J  r^.    A.  j^' 


OF   TUE 

Theological   Seminary, 

PRINCETON,    N.J* 


BR  121  .S49  1829  c.l  • 
Shaw,  Samuel,  1635-1696. 
Emmanuel;  or,  A  discovery  o> 
true  religion 


^ 


/   f 


SELECT 
CHRISTIAN  AUTHORS, 

WITH 

INTRODUCTORY  ESSAYS. 


NO-  38. 


?>vkr::-^ 


PUBl.lSHEn  HY  WILUAM  COLLINS    CILASOCW 


EMMANUEL: 

OR,  A 

DISCOVERY  OF  TRUE  RELIGION, 

AS  IT  IMPORTS  A 

LIVING  PRINCIPLE  IN  THE  MINDS  OF  MEN. 

AND  ON 

COMMUNION   WITH  GOD. 

SAMUEL  SHAW, 

LATE  MINISTER  OF  LONG-WHATTON,  LEICESTERSHIRE. 


WITH 

AN    INTRODUCTOllY   ESSAY, 

BY 

ROBERT  GORDON,  D.  D. 

MINISTER   OF   THE   NEW    NORTH    CHURCH,    EDINBURGH, 


GLASGOW: 
PRINTED  FOR  WILLIAM  COLLINS; 

WILLIAM  WHYTE  &  CO.  AND  WILLIAM  OLIPHANT,  EDINBURGH 
R.  M.  TIMS,   AND  WM.  CURRY,  JUN.  &  CO.  DUBLIN; 
G.   B.   WHITTAKER,  AND  HAMILTON,  ADAMS,  &  CO.  LONDON. 

1829. 


Priflf  od  by  W.  ColHns  &  Co. 


INTRODUCTORY   ESSAY. 


When,  on  a  certain  occasion,  the  Pharisees  demand- 
ed of  our  Lord,  when  the  kingdom  of  God  should 
come?  he  answered  them  and  said,  "  The  kingdom 
of  God  Cometh  not  with  observation  :  neither  shall 
they  say,  lo,  here  !  or  lo,  there !  for  behold  the 
kingdom  of  God  is  within  you ;"  and  the  same  truth 
is  stated  by  the  Apostle  Paul,  when  he  says,  "  The 
kingdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink ;  but  righ- 
teousness, and  peace,  and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 
These  statements  were  both  originally  made  to  par- 
ticular persons,  and  with  a  reference  to  special  cir- 
cumstances; the  former,  to  correct  the  mistaken  views 
of  the  Pharisees,  who  expected  that  the  kingdom  of 
God  was  to  commence  with  some  striking  interposi- 
tion of  divine  power  on  behalf  of  the  Jews,  and  to 
consist  in  their  being  put  in  possession  of  great  tem- 
poral prosperity ; — the  latter,  to  put  an  end  to  the 
dissension  which  had  arisen  between  the  Jewish  and 
Gentile  Christians  at  Rome,  respecting  certain  ex- 
ternal observances,  which  were  adhered  to  by  the  one 
class,  and  disregarded  by  the  other.  But,  though 
thus  directed,  in  the  first  instance,  against  special 


VI 

errors  and  misapprehensions,  both  statements  contain 
a  truth,  which  it  is  always  of  importance  to  bear  in 
raind,  and  convey  an  admonition,  which  is  but  too 
applicable  to  multitudes  in  every  age.  Though 
none,  who  are  in  the  slightest  degree  acquainted 
with  the  Gospel,  can  entertain  such  expectations 
concerninfT  the  kinfjdom  of  God,  as  were  entertained 
by  the  Jews,  it  will  be  found  that  the  principle  in 
which  their  error  originated  is  still  a  very  prevalent 
one  ;  and  that,  although  it  is  accompanied  with  a  pro- 
fession of  faith  in  the  Gospel,  it  does,  nevertheless,  in 
many  cases,  prevent  the  power  of  the  Gospel  from 
being  felt.  That  principle  consists  in  conceiving  of 
the  kingdom  of  God  as  of  something  external-^ 
some  dispensation,  in  the  benefits  of  which  all  parti- 
cipate who  professedly  acknowledge  its  authority, 
and  outwardly  conform  to  its  institutions  ;  just  as 
mankind  participate  in  the  advantages  of  that  politi- 
cal constitution,  under  which  they  live. 

It  is  possible,  that  many,  to  whom  this  remark  is 
applicable,  might  not  willingly  avow  such  an  opinion, 
and  that  they  may  never  have  formed  to  themselves 
a  distinct  conception  of  the  subject :  for  it  will  be 
found,  that  vague  and  indistinct  apprehensions  of 
divine  truth  constitute  the  refucre  in  which  multi- 
tudes,  who  are  familiar  with  the  sound  of  that  truth, 
make  their  escape  from  the  convictions  which  it 
might  awaken.  But  it  cannot,  we  fear,  be  dis- 
puted, that  with  many  the  idea  which  is  attached  to 
the  kingdom  of  God,  as  presently  existing  among 
mankind,  were  that  idea  expressed  in  definite  and 
precise  terms,  would  be  found,  in  reality,  to  amount 
to  little  more  than  what  has  now  been  stated;  that 


vu 

with  regard  to  communities,  this  kingdom  is  supposed 
to  be  established,  wherever  it  is  found  that  no  other 
than  the  Christian  system  of  faith  is  professed,  and 
no  other  than  Christian  rites  are  observed  ;  and  that 
in  the  case  of  individuals,  every  one  is  regarded  as 
a  subject  of  this  kingdom,   who  pays  to  the  institu- 
tions of  the    Gospel  that  measure  of  external  de- 
ference and  respect,  which  is  required  by  the  general 
sentiments   of  the  community  around  him.      It  is, 
indeed,   a  very  appalling  thought,   that  a  scheme  of 
divine  wisdom  and  mercy,   the  execution  of  which 
required  that  the  Son  of  God  should  become  incar- 
nate, and  suffer,  and  die;   and  the  design  of  which 
is  to  enthrone  God  in  the  love  and  affections  of  his 
debased  and  alienated  creatures,  should  be  regarded 
as  if  it  had  only  been  intended  to  give  currency  to  a 
certain  system  of  speculative  opinions,  or  to  construct 
the  frame-work  of  certain  external  observances.    Yet 
such,  in  reality,  is  the  place  which  is  assigned  to  it, 
in  the  estimation  of  those  who  have  never  distinctly 
conceived  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  as  the  establish- 
ment of  a  divine  principle  in  the  soul — the  dominion 
of  divine  love  over  the  affections;  and  who  do  not 
perceive  that  the  seat  of  this  dominion  is  the  heart, 
and  the  heart  alone ;  that  wherever  it  is  in  reality 
set  up,  it  is  just  as  complete  in  the  case  of  a   single 
individual  as  in  that  of  multitudes ;   and  that  how- 
ever generally  the  Gospel  may  be  professed  in   any 
community,    or   however   rigorously    its    ordinances 
may  be  observed,  yet  if  there  is  not  in  that  commu- 
nity any  one  individual  whose  heart  has  been  so  sub- 
jugated to  a  divine  power,  then  the  kingdom  of  God 
is  not  there.      But,  lamentable  as  it  is  to  reflect, 


Vlll 

that  the  subject  should  ever  be  regarded  in  any 
other  light,  it  is  nothing  more  than  what  we  are 
taught  to  expect.  Our  Lord  himself  declared,  not 
of  the  Jews,  who  openly  rejected  him,  but  of  such  as 
should  professedly  acknowledge  him,  and  wear  all 
the  external  badges  of  discipleship,  that  "many  will 
hereafter  say  to  him.  Lord,  Lord,  we  have  eaten  and 
drunk  in  thy  presence,  and  thou  hast  taught  in  our 
streets  ;  but  he  will  say  to  them,  I  never  knew  you;, 
depart  from  me  ye  that  work  iniquity."  In  the  re- 
velation which  he  vouchsafed  to  make  to  his  servant 
John,  respecting  the  spiritual  condition  of  the 
churches  of  Asia,  he  addressed  the  members  of  one 
of  these  churches,  as  men  Vv'ho  had  a  name  to  live 
and  were  dead  ;  and  the  Apostle  Paul,  in  his  writ- 
ings, speaks  of  some  who  were  ever  learning,  and 
never  able  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth— 
and  of  others,  who  had  a  form  of  godliness,  but  de- 
nied the  power  thereof.  But  there  is,  perhaps,  no 
passage  that  does  more  emphatically  express  the 
tendency  of  mankind  to  substitute  the  mere  externals 
of  the  Gospel,  for  the  faith  of  the  Gospel  itself, 
than  that  to  which  we  adverted  at  the  commence- 
ment of  these  remarks, — where,  in  writing  to  those 
whom  the  Apostle  believed  to  be  Christians,  and 
of  whom  he  had  before  said,  that  "  he  thanked 
God,  through  Jesus  Christ,  for  them  all,  that  their 
faith  was  spoken  of  throughout  the  whole  world," 
he  thought  it  necessary  to  remind  them,  that  "the 
kinfrdom  of  God  is  not  meat  and  drink." 

What  the  Apostle  has  thus  said  of  the  observ- 
ances which  had  created  a  dissension  between  the 
Jewish  and  Gentile  Christians,  is  obviously  appli- 


IX 

cable  to  every  thing  else  which  mankind  may  be 
found  to  substitute  for  what  is  represented  in  the 
same  passage  as  constituting  the  kingdom  of  God ; 
and  while  his  statement  may  thus  be  considered  as 
announcing  the  general  truth,  that  this  kingdom 
consists  not  in  external  things,  however  important 
these  may  be  in  their  place  ;  it  does  at  the  same  time 
intimate,  how  prone  mankind  are  to  rest  satisfied 
with  these — a  truth  which  is  confirmed  alike  by  the 
past  history,  and  the  present  condition,  of  the  pro- 
fessedly Christian  world. 

In  illustration  of  this  remark,  we  may  refer 
to  that  system  of  error  and  superstition,  which, 
under  the  name  of  Christianity,  did,  for  many 
ages,  exclude  from  the  nations  generally  the  light 
of  divine  truth,  and  which  still  continues  to  en- 
velop many  of  them  in  spiritual  darkness.  The 
principle  upon  which  that  system  was  established 
and  maintained,  was  to  identify  the  kingdom  of 
Christ  with  the  exercise  of  secular  power — to  give 
to  that  kingdom  the  form  and  character  of  a  tem- 
poral sovereignty — and  to  suspend  the  communica- 
tion of  its  blessings,  on  the  payment  of  the  same  kind 
of  submission  that  earthly  governments  are  wont  to  re- 
quire of  their  subjects.  And  that  such  a  system  should 
not  only  succeed,  but  should,  through  many  succes- 
sive ages,  continue  steadily  to  advance — that,  in  spite 
of  the  oppression  and  tyranny  with  which  it  asserted 
its  authority,  and  promoted  its  interests,  it  should, 
nevertheless,  secure  the  ready  acquiescence  of  a  vast 
majority  of  every  country  into  which  it  was  intro- 
duced, and  that  it  should  ultimately  acquire  a  strength 
and  a  stability  which^  humanly  speaking,  rendered 

A3 


its  overtlirow  altogether  a  hopeless  thing,  is  a  strik- 
ing tcstimoriy  how  prone  mankind  are  to  place  re- 
ligion in  any  thing  else  rather  than  in  the  state  of 
the  heart,  and  to  acknowledtje  the  kin^jdom  of  God  in 
any  form,  provided  it  does  not  assert  a  supremacy  over 
the  affections.  It  was,  in  fact,  by  availing  them- 
selves of  this  principle  of  human  nature,  that  the 
abettors  of  the  popisli  superstition  were  so  successful 
in  establishing  and  perpetuating  their  spiritual  domi- 
nation. The  deluded  votaries  of  that  system  were 
willing  enough  to  acknowledge  the  authority  of  the 
church  ;  because,  however  grievous  might  be  the 
servitude  which  she  exacted,  or  however  painful  the 
penances  which  she  imposed,  it  was  still  but  the  ser- 
vitude of  an  external  conformity,  which  might  at  any 
time,  by  a  great  effort,  be  discharged;  and  it  was  a 
service,  therefore,  which,  however  burdensome  in 
itself,  was  far  more  agreeable  to  the  corrupt  prin- 
ciples of  human  nature,  than  one  which  implied  the 
subjugation  of  every  unholy  passion,  and  every  un- 
sanctified  desire,  to  the  authority  of  Christ.  The 
whole  system  did,  accordingly,  proceed  upon  this  prin- 
ciple. The  sinner  was  taught  to  believe — and  to  a 
depraved  heart,  not  absolutely  insensible  to  the  ap- 
prehension of  a  future  reckoning,  it  was  a  most 
acceptable  doctrine — that,  by  the  endurance  of  some 
bodily  penance,  the  sacrifice  of  some  portion  of 
worldly  possessions,  or  the  rigorous  observance  of 
some  outward  religious  rites,  his  sins  would  be  for- 
given him  ;  and  that,  if  he  would  secure  for  himself 
a  higher  place  in  the  kingdom  of  heaven  hereafter, 
he  had  only  to  multiply  these  acts  of  mortification 
and  self-denial,   and   exceed  his  fellow-men  in  his 


XI 

zealous  support  of  the  authority,  and  his  liberal  con- 
tributions to  the  wealth,  of  what  was  denominated 
the  church.  It  was  thus  that  provision  was  made 
for  pacifying  a  guilty  conscience,  while  the  convic- 
tions that  were  suppressed  had  no  influence  in  re- 
straining the  sinner  from  the  future  commission  of 
the  same  or  still  more  atrocious  offences ;  and  hopes 
of  heaven  were  awakened,  while  the  means  that  were 
employed  to  do  so,  instead  of  conveying  any  distinct 
idea,  or  communicating  any  foretaste  of  its  blessed- 
ness, went  directly  to  render  the  soul  still  more  de- 
based, and  still  more  incapable  of  spiritual  enjoy- 
ment ;  and  we  have,  therefore,  in  the  system  of 
Romish  error  and  delusion,  the  testimony  of  a  large 
majority  of  the  professedly  Christian  world,  and  that 
through  a  long  succession  of  ages,  to  the  melancholy 
fact,  that  the  sinner  is  ready  to  embrace  any  scheme, 
or  betake  himself  to  any  subterfuge,  whereby  he  may 
evade  the  demand  which  God  makes  on  his  heart  and 
affections. 

But  testimonies  to  the  same  sad  truth  may  be 
found,  we  fear,  in  abundance,  without  referring  to 
the  gross  and  palpable  delusion,  under  which  so  large 
a  portion  of  mankind  laboured,  during  the  period 
that  superstition  held  the  undisputed  sway  over  what 
was  called  the  Christian  world.  From  the  circum- 
stances in  which  we  have  been  placed,  and  the  improve- 
ment which  we  have  witnessed,  both  in  the  political 
and  moral  condition  of  mankind — an  improvement 
which  may  be  traced,  either  directly  or  indirectly, 
to  the  influence  of  the  truth — we  are  apt  to  regard 
the  state  of  the  world,  while  under  the  domination  of 
spiritual  tyranny,  as  an  unnatural  one,  and  are  ready 


xii 

to  give  way  to  astonishment,  that  mankind  should, 
for  one  moment,  have  submitted  to  such  a  domina- 
tion. But,  though  it  is  no  doubt  true,  that  the 
extremity  of  oppression  to  which  the  system  was  car- 
ried, as  it  immediately  affected  the  temporal  comfort 
and  well-being  of  its  subjects,  was  calculated  to  revolt 
the  common  understanding  and  the  common  feelings 
of  mankind  ;  and,  though  in  this  respect  it  did  no 
doubt  awaken  much  secret  dissatisfaction,  if  it  did 
not  call  forth  open  resistance  ;  yet  the  strength  of 
the  system,  in  so  far  as  it  was  professedly  of  a  spi- 
ritual character,  lay  in  the  depraved  hearts  and  alien- 
ated affections  of  men  ;  and  it  found  acceptance 
with  them,  because  it  provided  for  quieting  their 
apprehensions  of  the  consequences  of  guilt,  while  it 
left  them  in  the  undisturbed  possession  of  every  in- 
dulgence, by  which  they  were  daily  becoming  still 
more  guilty.  And  that  this  was  really  the  strong- 
hold of  the  delusion,  is  but  too  evident  from  what  is 
daily  exemplified  among  ourselves  ;  for  is  it  not  true, 
that  even  in  those  communities,  where  such  a  system 
of  spiritual  oppression  as  we  have  just  referred  to,  is 
professedly  held  in  detestation,  and  where  no  indi- 
vidual would  recognize  another's  claim  to  the  autho- 
rity of  directing  his  conscience,  or  the  power  of 
deciding  on  his  future  destiny ;  there  are,  neverthe- 
less, multitudes,  who  have  just  substituted  the  simple 
forms  of  worship  which  characterize  the  reformed 
churches,  for  the  more  laborious  and  diversified  ritual 
of  the  church  of  Rome,  and  who  are  virtually  assign- 
ing the  same  place,  and  attaching  the  same  weight,  to 
these  more  scriptural  modes  of  going  about  religious 
exercises,  which  the  others  did  to  their  system  of 
mortification  and  penance? 


Such,  it  is  obvious,  must  be  the  case  with  every 
mere  formalist — to  many  of  whom  the  religious  duties, 
which  the  practice  of  the  community  at  large,  the  in- 
fluence of  early  associations,  or  some  faint  and  indis- 
tinct impression  of  the  truth  itself  constrains  them  to 
engage  in,  are,  in  fact,  little  else  than  so  many  acts  of 
penance — a  penance,  perhaps,  which  is  not  very  pain- 
ful from  their  being  reconciled  to  it  by  habit,  and 
which  does  not  make  a  very  large  encroachment  either 
on  their  hours  of  business,  or  seasons  of  pleasure;  but, 
still,  such  as  they  would  not  submit  to,  were  the  com- 
fort and  the  enjoyment  which  it  yields  them  the  only 
advantage  that  they  expect  to  derive  from  it.  In 
certain  circumstances,  indeed,  they  may  not  be  con- 
scious of  making  any  effort,  or  submitting  to  any 
sacrifice,  in  attending  on  the  public  exercises  of 
religious  worship — nay,  there  may  even  be  certain 
circumstances  connected  with  that  service,  which 
enable  them  to  spend  the  time  that  is  devoted 
to  it,  more  agreeably  than  they  could  contrive  to  do 
in  any  other  way.  But  if,  with  all  this,  they  are 
receiving  no  serious  or  permanent  impression  from 
the  truths  which  are  thus  set  before  them  ;  if  they 
feel  no  anxiety,  and  make  no  effort  to  keep  alive  any 
impression  that  may  occasionally  be  made  on  them  ; 
if  they  return  to  their  worldly  pursuits,  satisfied  with 
the  reflection,  that  they  have  discharged  a  duty, 
though  there  has  been  nothing  more  in  that  duty 
than  placing  themselves,  for  a  certain  time,  in  cer- 
tain circumstances  ;  and  if  any  interest,  which  they 
might  feel  while  so  employed,  arose,  not  from  the 
value  or  the  importance  of  the  truth  to  which  their 
attention  was  directed,  but  from  something  altogether 


XIV 

unconnected  with   the  import   of  that  truth  ;    then 
what  is  it  but  to  say,   that  they  substitute  the  sound 
of  the  Gospel  for  the  Gospel  itself,  and  the  external 
observance  of  its  ordinances,  for  a  cordial  acceptance 
•of  its  overtures  ?      Yet,  we  fear,  there  is  no  room  to 
doubt,  that  such  is  the  amount  of  all  that  is  implied 
on  the  part  of  many,  in  the  outward  regard  that  is 
paid    to    public  ordinances ;    and   were  their    man- 
ner of  engaging  in  the  more  private  exercises  of  re- 
ligion   fully   unfolded,   it  would   appear    still   more 
clearly,  that  such  exercises  are  more  a  penance  than 
a  pleasure.      It  is  possible  that  the  same  considera- 
tions,  which  induce  them  to  wait  on  the  preaching 
of  the  Word,  may  constrain  them  to  observe  the  form 
of  private  prayer,  and  reading  the  Scriptures  ;  nor 
might  they  feel  quite  at  ease,   did  they  deliberately 
omit  to  do  so,   without  some  reason  that  might  ap- 
pear to   them  a  valid  excuse.      But   such    excuses 
will  not  be  of  unfrequent  occurrence  ;  and  when  they 
do  not  occur,  the  duty  will  be  gone  about,  rather  as 
a  matter  of  necessity  which  cannot  be  safely  omitted, 
and  to  which,  therefore,   their  own  comfort  requires 
them  to  be  reconciled,  than   as  a  matter  of  choice, 
which  it  would  be  a  sacrifice  both  of  pleasure  and  of 
profit   to  neglect.      Till  the  task  is  gone  through, 
they  will  feel  that  there  is  something  before  them 
which    it   would    be  a  comfort  to  have  done  with  ; 
when  they  do  engage  in  it,   there  will  be  no  solem- 
nity of  feeling,   or  earnestness  of  desire,   at  all  cor- 
responding to  the  momentous  truths  which  they  read, 
or  the  language  of  supplication  to  which   they  give 
utterance  ;  and,  when  it  is  completed,  they  will  be- 
take themselves  to  their  worldly  concernsj  more  like 


XV 

persons  who  have  made  their  escape  from  some  re- 
straint, than  like  those  who  have  received  new  com- 
munications of  strength,  wherewith  to  encounter  the 
temptations,  and  submit  to  the  trials  of  life.  There 
are  many,  we  fear,  who,  with  just  such  a  form  of 
godliness  as  we  have  now  described,  contrive  to  live, 
day  after  day,  without  any  doubt  or  misgiving  about 
the  question,  whether  or  not  they  are  Christians  ; 
and  who  even  succeed,  when  any  such  misgiving  is 
awakened,  in  putting  it  down  with  the  reflection,  that 
they  have  been  most  regular  in  the  private  duties  of 
religion,  and  most  decorous  in  their  observance  of  its 
more  public  ordinances — that  they  have  about  them 
all  that  is  generally  esteemed  by  others  essential  to 
the  Christian  character — and  that  if,  on  some  points, 
they  have,  at  times,  been  less  careful  and  less  }  igor- 
ous  than  they  ought  to  have  been,  they  are  resolved, 
that  in  future  they  will  be  more  regular  on  these 
points  than  they  formerly  were :  and,  if  to  tiiese 
considerations,  they  can  add  the  decencies  of  an  un- 
blemished life  and  reputation,  they  will  be  ready  to 
conclude,  that  they  have  nothing  to  fear.  Nay, 
there  are  not  wanting  instances,  which  go  to  prove, 
that  reflections  like  these  constitute,  with  many,  the 
strength  of  their  hopes  in  the  immediate  prospect  of 
death — or  if,  at  such  times,  they  do  manifest  a  more 
than  usual  anxiety  about  religious  exercises,  that  it 
is  still  on  the  same  principle  on  which  they  formerly 
observed  them — a  principle  essentially  the  same  as 
that  on  which  the  deluded  votaries  of  superstition 
betook  themselves  for  comfort,  to  the  last  religious 
rites  which  their  system  had  prescribed ;  and  what, 
therefore,    are    such    facts,    but    just    melancholy 


XVI 

proofs,  tliat  with  many  religion  is  still  a  mere  system 
of"  external  things,  with  which  the  heart  and  the  af- 
fections have  nothing  to  do. 

But  the    truth    which    we   are   endeavouring    to 
establish,   may  be    exemplified    in    the   character  of 
some,  whose  condition  is  in  many  respects  apparently 
far  more  hopeful,  than  that  of  the  class  of  formalists 
to  whom  we  have  just  referred.      It  is  possible  that 
an  individual  may  be  placed  in  such  circumstances, 
or  led  to  form  such  connexions,   as  may  awaken  in 
his  mind  some  interest  on  the  subject  of  Scripture 
truth  ;  in  the  course  of  his  inquiries,  he  may  discover 
a  great  deal  in  that  truth  to  exercise  his  understand- 
ing, and  even  in  some  measure  to  call  forth  his  ad- 
miration ;  he  may  perceive,  to  a  certain  extent,  the 
order  and  beauty  of  the  doctrines  of  Scripture,  as 
forming  a  connected  system,   and  not  a  little  too  of 
the  adaptation  of  the  whole  scheme  to  the  condition 
of  creatures  who  are  in  a  state  of  guilt  and  alienation 
from   God  ;   and  he  may  have  acquired  not   only  a 
facility,  but  a  desire  of  making  that  scheme  the  sub- 
ject of  converse,-  or  of  discussion,  among  those  with 
whom  he  is  accustomed  to  associate.      Having  thus 
acquired  a  speculative  acquaintance  with  the  truths 
of  Scripture,  he  may  manifest  a  decided  predilection 
for  those  exhibitions  of  the  truth,  in  which  it  is  fairly 
and  faithfully  set  forth,  with  a  corresponding  dislike 
to  every  thing  that  would  darken  or  perplex  it — and 
he  may  even  show  a  great  deal  of  zeal  for  the  ad- 
vancement and  ultimate  triumph  of  those  sentiments 
which  he  himself  entertains.      But,  with  all  this,  the 
truth  may  never  have  obtained  a  permanent  place  in 
his  heart,  or  exercised  any  salutary  influence  on  his 


XVll 

affections.  While  he  perceives  the  harmony  that 
subsists  among  the  truths  of  Scripture,  considered  as 
a  connected  system,  and  even  its  adaptation  to  the 
circumstances  of  those  for  whom  it  is  professedly 
designed,  the  satisfaction  which  it  yields  him  may 
arise  from  the  fitness  of  such  a  harmony,  and  such  an 
adaptation  to  awaken  admiration,  just  as  any  beauti- 
ful arrangement  is  calculated  to  please,  while  he  is, 
nevertheless,  blind  to  it,  as  that,  on  his  acceptance  of 
which  his  eternal  well-being  is  suspended.  In  mani- 
festing a  decided  preference  for  those  works,  or 
those  discourses  in  which  the  leading  truths  of  the 
Gospel  are  prominently  exhibited,  his  gratification 
may  be  altogether,  or  in  a  great  measure,  traced 
to  the  accordance  between  such  statements  and 
the  views  which  he  himself  entertains,  while  the 
truth  itself  engages  but  a  small  portion  of  his  atten- 
tion or  regard.  And,  in  like  manner,  with  respect 
to  the  zeal  which  he  shows  in  the  defence  of  these 
views,  and  the  anxiety  which  he  feels  for  their  ad" 
vancement  and  final  triumph,  it  may  in  reality  be  the 
same  kind  of  zeal  which  he  would  manifest  in  the 
defence,  or  for  the  establishment,  of  his  own  favourite 
opinions  on  any  other  subject — and  pride,  therefore, 
may  be  at  the  foundation  of  all  the  interest  which  he 
feels  about  the  truth,  and  all  the  efforts  which  he 
makes  for  its  advancement.  It  is  thus,  that,  with 
one  class,  the  same  value  may  be  put  upon  a  system 
of  opinions,  which,  by  another,  is  attached  to  certain 
external  observances,  while  both  are  alike  strangers 
to  the  operation  of  that  divine  principle,  which  con- 
stitutes the  kincrdom  of  God  in  the  soul  of  man. 
To  the  nature  and  the  effects  of  this  spiritual  do- 


XVIU 

minion,  we  shall  have  occasion  immediately  to  advert. 
But,  whatever  these  may  be,  it  is  a  very  obvious  and 
a  very  important  truth,  that  the  kingdom  of  God 
does  not  consist,  either  in  mere  opinions,  however 
sound,  or  in  outward  observances,  however  seriously 
or  regularly  they  may  be  gone  about ;  that  the  one 
may  be  entertained,  and  the  other  practised,  while 
the  heart  remains  as  much  estranged  from  God  as 
ever  it  was  ;  and  that  so  long  as  this  is  the  con- 
dition of  the  sinner,  he  m^ist  be  the  subject  of  some 
other  kingdom,  than  that  which  the  Son  of  God 
came  to  announce,  and  is  exalted  to  establish.  In 
carrying  into  effect  his  gracious  purpose  of  setting  up 
his  kingdom  in  the  world,  he  is  pleased  to  employ 
the  preaching  of  the  truth,  even  the  proclamation  of 
a  free  remission  through  his  blood;  this  truth  makes 
a  direct  and  a  most  powerful  appeal  to  the  heart  of 
every  sinner  who  hears  it;  and  when,  by  the  power 
of  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  does  make  its  way  to  the 
heart,  and  displaces  the  enmity  against  God,  which 
formerly  had  its  abode  there,  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
in  that  individual  begins  to  be  set  up.  But  so 
long  as  the  truth  produces  no  such  effect,  it  is  ob- 
vious that  it  has  not  done  what  it  is  its  first  object  to 
accomplish  ;  and  whatever,  therefore,  sinners  may 
know  about  the  Gospel,  as  a  subject  of  opinion  or 
speculation,  or  whatever  they  may  do  in  the  way  of 
observing  its  institutions,  they  are  virtually  acting  as 
if  the  kinirdom  of  God  were  somethino;  external — 
they  are  deceiving  themselves,  with  a  name  to  live, 
while  they  are  ppiritually  dead. 

Now,  in  opposition  to  all  such  views  of  the  king- 
dom of  God,  as  would  make  it  to  consist  in  external 


XIX 

observances,  our  Lord  has  declared  that  this  kingdom, 
if  it  exist  at  all,   "  is  within   us  ;"   and   the  Apostle 
has  very  clearly  explained  the  import  of  this  decla- 
ration when  he  says,   that  "  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
righteousness,    and    peace,    and   joy    in    the    Holy 
Ghost."     And,  with  regard  to  the  term   '  righteous- 
ness,'  as  here  used  by  the  Apostle,   its   meaning  is 
determined   by  the   general    scope   of  the    passage. 
On   many  occasions  it   is  employed  to  express  the 
ground  of  a  sinner's  justification  in  the  sight  of  God, 
even   the  obedience  unto  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ;  and  when  so  used  it  denotes  something  that 
is  not,   and  cannot  be,  inherent  in  the  nature  of  be- 
lievers :   for  though  this  righteousness  is  imputed  to 
them,  and  made  available  for  their  pardon   and  ac- 
ceptance with  God,  still  it  is  something  which  essen- 
tially belongs  to   another.      Such,   however,   cannot 
be   its   meaning  in    the  passage  referred  to.      The 
Apostle  is  speaking — not  of  the  principle  on  which 
sinners  are   received   into   divine   favour,   made   the 
subjects  of  the  kingdom  of  God,   and  put  in  posses- 
sion of  its  privileges  and  blessings — but  of  the  na- 
ture of  that  kingdom  itself,   as  actually   set   up  in 
their  hearts,   exercising  a  supreme  control  over  all 
the  moral  principles  of  their  nature,  and  making  it- 
self manifest  by  a  corresponding  life  and  conversation. 
By  the  term   '  righteousness,'   then,   we  are  here  to 
understand  somethina    existino-  in    believers   them- 
selves ;  and  if  so,  it  can  mean  nothing  else  than  the 
conformity  of  their  will  to  the  will  of  God — the  re- 
establishment  in  their  minds  of  the  authority  of  that 
law  which  requires  them  to  love  the  Lord  their  God 


XX 

with  all  their  heart,  and  to  love  their  neighbour  as 
themselves. 

The  Apostle,  indeed,  cannot  be  understood  as 
intimating,  that  in  every  case  this  law  is  at  once  re- 
instated in  the  believer's  heart  in  undisputed  supre- 
macy, and  takes  captive  the  affections  without 
reluctance  or  reserve ;  for,  alas  !  the  very  occasion 
on  which  he  wrote  the  passage  referred  to,  does  itself 
show  that  the  case  is  far  otherwise.  But  his  decla- 
ration, that  "  the  kingdom  of  God  is  righteousness,'* 
does  assuredly  imply,  that  where  there  is  no  turning 
of  the  heart  to  God,  no  desire  to  be  conformed  to 
his  will,  and  nothing  like  the  commencement  of  any 
such  conformity,  there  the  kingdom  of  God  is  not 
yet  set  up — that  the  very  existence  of  this  kingdom 
lies  in  the  subordination  of  the  will  to  the  divine  law, 
as  holy,  and  reasonable,  and  right,  and  good — and 
that  the  result  of  its  full  and  final  establishment,  will 
be  the  cheerful  and  unreserved  acquiescence  of  the 
heart  in  the  will  of  God,  as  in  all  cases,  and  on  every 
point,  infinitely  the  best.  Such,  it  is  obvious,  is  not 
the  natural  condition  of  mankind,  either  as  it  regards 
the  state  of  their  hearts,  or  as  it  relates  to  the  tenor 
of  their  conduct.  The  slightest  acquaintance  with 
human  nature,  and  the  most  superficial  view  of  the 
divine  law,  as  revealed  in  the  Scriptures,  are  suffi- 
cient to  show,  that  the  one  stands  fearfully  at  variance 
with  the  other;  nor  can  sinners  themselves,  as  often 
as  their  attention  is  awakened  to  the  subject,  avoid 
feeling  conscious  that  it  is  so.  To  say  nothing  of 
their  proneness  to  forget  God,  and  their  unwilling- 
ness to  entertain  solemn  thoughts  of  the  claim  which 
he  has  upon  their  love  and  gratitude,  and  which  does 


XXI 

itself  involve  in  it  all  the  guilt  of  apostacy  and  rebel- 
lion, it  is  but  too  evident,  that  in  the  exercise  of 
their  affections,  and  desires,  and  intellectual  facul- 
ties, there  is  the  manifestation  of  an  active  hostility 
to  God;  that  they  are  naturally  inclined  to  seek 
happiness  in  pleasures  and  pursuits,  which  are  not 
only  pervaded  by  a  principle  of  ungodliness,  inas- 
much as  they  have  no  reference  to  the  divine  glory, 
but  are  actually  opposed  to  what  he  has  expressly 
revealed  as  his  will ;  that  if  the  divine  law  is  not 
absolutely  disregarded  and  set  at  nought,  it  is  at  least 
dealt  by  as  an  unreasonable  law,  whose  requirements, 
where  they  cannot  be  evaded,  must  be  so  modified 
and  understood,  as  not  to  interfere  with  present  en- 
joyments ;  that  there  is  in  the  hearts  of  men  such  a 
dissatisfaction  with  those  events  which  defeat  their 
schemes,  and  disappoint  their  expectations,  as  amounts 
to  a  direct  resistance  to  the  execution  of  the  divine 
will;  and  that  there  is  thus  in  the  unrenewed  mind, 
a  continual  conflict  with  the  divine  Mind,  in  the  way 
either  of  evading  his  authority,  or  opposing  the  exe- 
cution of  his  purposes. 

Nor  is  the  state  of  the  human  heart  less  at 
variance  with  that  commandment  of  the  divine 
law,  which  requires  mankind  to  love  their  neigh- 
bours as  themselves;  for,  in  spite  of  all  those  pe- 
culiar ties,  by  which  individuals  may  be  found 
united  to  one  another  in  the  bond  of  friendship  and 
affection,  it  is  undeniable,  that  there  is  in  human 
nature  a  principle  of  selfishness,  that  prompts  men  to 
sacrifice  the  interest  of  others  to  their  own  ;  that  in 
many  cases  where  it  does  not  actually  appear,  it 
tvants   only  to  be   subjected  to  a  fair  trial,   to  be 


xxu 

elicited  and  brought  into  action  ;  and  that  even  in 
those  who  are  most  highly  distinguished  for  genero- 
sity and  benevolence,  its  existence  is  but  too  evident 
from  the  irritation,  the  offences,  and  misapprehen- 
sions, which  are  so  frequently  occurring  in  the  ordi- 
nary intercourse  of  life.  And  what,  then,  can  be 
the  result  of  such  a  state  of  moral  disorder,  but 
insecurity,  disappointment,  and  vexation  of  spirit  ? 
It  is  no  doubt  true,  that,  through  the  forbearance 
of  God,  mankind  do  not  here  reap  to  their  full 
extent  the  bitter  fruits  of  this  disorder;  inasmuch, 
as  in  many,  perhaps  a  very  large  majority  of  cases, 
ungodly  men  are  permitted  to  succeed  in  their  schemes 
of  worldly  profit  or  pleasure;  and  even  when  they 
are  given  practically  to  feel  the  hopelessness  of  the 
controversy  which  they  maintain  vvith  God,  in  hav- 
ing their  plans  defeated,  and  their  prospects  blasted, 
still  these  calamities  are  but  an  intimation  of  what  his 
retributive  justice  will  do,  not  a  retribution  itself. 
But,  how  utterly  miserable  should  they  be,  and  how 
entirely  bereft  of  every  consolation  and  hope,  were 
their  forgetfulness  of  God  visited  with  a  correspond- 
ing abandonment  on  his  part ;  and  were  they  made 
to  feel,  at  every  point,  where  they  stand  opposed,  in 
heart  and  life,  to  his  will,  the  desperate  nature  of  that 
opposition  ?  Were  they  for  one  hour  given  up  to 
such  a  state  of  desolation  and  helplessness,  there 
would  be  crowded  into  that  hour  more  misery  and 
wretchedness  than  it  is  possible  for  us  to  estimate 
or  conceive  of;  and  they  would  know,  as  a  matter  of 
experience,  that  to  say  of  intelligent  creatures  that 
their  hearts  are  not  right  with  God,  is  to  say 
that  they  are  necessarily  unhappy.      To  render  them 


XXlll 

happy,  therefore,  it  is  necessary  that  this  perversion 
of  their  raoral  nature  be  rectified  ;  inasmuch,  as 
without  such  a  change  of  sentiment  and  feehng  to- 
wards God,  there  can  be  nothing  hke  the  enjoyment 
of  fellowship  with  him  ;  and  so  far  as  this  change  has 
taken  place,  to  that  extent  the  kingdom  of  God  has 
been  established  in  the  heart.  Tliis  righteousness, 
it  is  true,  does  not  constitute  the  ground  upon  which 
sinners  are  received  into  the  divine  favour,  nor  are 
we  at  all  referring  to  the  principle  on  which  they  are 
so  received;  for,  in  point  of  fact,  there  will  be  no 
approach  towards  an  affectionate  thought  of  God,  or 
a  cheerful  submission  to  his  will,  until  they  have  seen 
how  their  guilt  may  be  forgiven,  and  have  felt  some- 
thing of  the  constraining  power  of  his  love,  for 
whose  sake  forgiveness  is  granted.  But  it  is  at  the 
same  time  essential  to  their  blessedness — nay,  it 
does  in  reality  constitute  the  perfection  of  their  na- 
ture, to  be  brought  into  such  a  state  of  conformity 
to  the  divine  will,  as  that  they  shall  regard  the  exe- 
cution of  that  will  with  complacency  and  satisfaction 
— that  the  very  thought  of  its  being  supreme,  shall 
impart  to  them  a  feeling  of  security  regarding  the  per- 
manency, as  well  as  the  perfection  of  their  happiness 
— that  they  shall  feel  these  desires  and  affections  to 
be  in  a  state  of  unison  with  all  that  is  holy,  and  righ- 
teous, and  beneficent,  and  good — and  that  nothing, 
in  which  they  are  individually  concerned,  shall  ever 
awaken  one  suspicious  or  distrustful  thought,  regard- 
ing the  wisdom,  and  the  love,  and  the  faithfulness  of 
God's  procedure  towards  them.  From  this  state, 
the  Christian  may  have  to  lament  that  he  is  still  at 
a  great  distance.      But,  while  his  understanding  can- 


XXIV 

not  fail  to  assent  to  the  truth  of  what  has  now  been 
stated,  respecting  the  necessity  of  his  being  brought 
to  it,  he  must  be  conscious  also,  from  what  he  has 
actually  felt,  that  every  step  he  advances  towards  it, 
brings  him  nearer  to  the  perfection  of  his  happiness. 
He  cannot  but  know,  on  the  one  hand,  that  in  the 
submission  of  his  will  to  the  will  of  God,  in  a  child- 
like acquiescence  in  the  divine  appointments, in  a  firm 
reliance  on  the  divine  faithfulness,  and  in  the  exer- 
cise of  affection  and  good  will  towards  his  fellow- 
men,  there  is  a  satisfaction  and  an  enjoyment,  which 
no  mere  worldly  gratification  will  ever  impart ;  and 
he  must  be  conscious,  on  the  other  hand,  that  when 
on  any  occasion  he  has  been  drawn  into  any  thing  for 
which  his  heart  condemns  him,  as  a  violation  of  the 
law,  which  requires  him  so  to  feel  and  act  towards 
God  and  his  neighbour,  the  frame  of  his  mind,  in  so 
far  as  it  was  peaceful  and  happy,  has  been  disturbed 
—that,  even  though  he  can  look  to  the  blood  of 
Christ,  for  the  pardon  of  his  offence,  the  conse- 
quences of  that  offence,  in  throwing  his  heart  and 
affections  into  a  state  of  disorder,  are  not  immediately 
rectified — and  that,  independent  of  the  guilt  which 
he  has  contracted,  an  inroad  has  also  been  made  upon 
his  happiness ;  and  the  experience,  therefore,  of 
every  believer,  furnishes  a  practical  illustration  of  the 
truth,  that  *'the  kingdom  of  God  is  righteousness." 
But  the  subject  of  these  remarks  is  still  farther  il- 
lustrated by  the  Apostle's  statement,  that  "  the  king- 
dom of  God  is  peace."  The  term  'peace,'  as  ap- 
plied to  sinners,  is  frequently  used  in  Scripture  to 
denote,  either  their  reconciliation  to  God,  or  that 
relief  which  accompanies  their  reconciliation,  when  the 


XXV 

conscience  is  no  longer  under  a  depressing  sense, 
and  a  tormenting  apprehension  of  unforgiven  guilt. 
Thus  the  birth  of  the  Saviour  was  announced  to  the 
shepherds  of  Bethlehem,  as  "peace  on  earth,  and 
good  will  towards  men."  Christ  is  represented  as 
reconciling  sinners  unto  God,  "  having  made  peace 
by  the  blood  of  his  cross."  And  it  is  declared  of 
them  who  believe,  that  "  being  justified  by  faith, 
they  have  peace  with  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ."  It  is  evident,  indeed,  from  the  whole  tenor 
of  the  New  Testament,  that  a  pacified  conscience  is 
the  first  practical  effect  which  accompanies  the  faith 
of  the  gospel ;  and  it  is  equally  evident,  both  from 
Scripture,  and  from  the  constitution  of  human  nature, 
that  till  the  soul  that  is  conscious  of  guilt  has  received 
and  relied  on  God's  own  assurance  of  a  free  and  full 
remission,  there  can  be  no  satisfaction  or  enjoy- 
ment in  realizing  the  divine  presence;  and  tliat  peace 
of  conscience  therefore,  arising  from  the  divine  tes- 
timony concerning  Christ,  constitutes  the  commence- 
ment of  the  believer's  fellowship  with  God.  When 
the  Apostle  declares,  then,  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is 
peace,  his  statement  necessarily  implies,  that  wherever 
this  kingdom  has  been  established,  there  the  peace  of 
being  reconciled  to  God  has  been  felt,  inasmuch  as 
without  this,  the  sinner  must  either  be  living  in  igno- 
rance and  forgetfulness  of  God,  or  must  be  a  prey 
to  the  suspicion  and  fear  which  guilt  awakens,  and, 
consequently,  in  a  state  that  altogether  disqualifies 
him  for  finding  any  satisfaction  and  comfort  in  con- 
templating the  sovereignty  of  the  divine  will,  and  the 
execution  of  the  divine  purposes.  But  though  all 
this  must  be  understood  as  intimated  in  the  Apostle's 

B  .     »     S8 


XXVI 

declaration,  it  is  evident,  we  think,  that  it  implies  a 
great   deal   more.      However   valuable  may  be  the 
peace  which  the  glad  'tidings  of  a  free  salvation  bring 
to  the  convicted  and  trembling  sinner,  and  however 
essential  to  the  commencement  and  the  future  pro- 
gress of  the  divine  life  in  his  soul,   there  is  a  peace 
also,  and  that  of  a  more  elevated  character,  arising 
out  of  holiness  itself;   and  it  is  to  this  especially,  we 
conceive,  that  the  Apostle  here  refers.      He  had  al- 
ready set  forth  the  kingdom  of  God  as  consisting  in 
righteousness — in  the  restoration  of  the  soul  to  a 
state  of  conformity  to  the  divine  will — and  the  re- 
establishment,  over  the  affections,  of  the  authority  of 
that  law  which  requires  mankind  to  love  God  with 
all  their  heart,   and  their  neighbour  as  themselves; 
and  when  he  proceeds,  therefore,  further  to  represent 
this  kingdom  as  consisting  in  peace,  we  canuDt  avoid 
concluding,  that  he  refers  to  the  state  of  mind  in 
which  all  the  aifections  are  placed   on   their  proper 
objects,  regulated  by  the  eternal  la\f  of  rectitude  and 
truth,  and  exercised  with  a  reference  to  the  will  of 
Him,  who  is  acknowledged  and  felt  to  be  infinitely 
worthy  of  supreme  love  and   regard,   as   contrasted 
with  that  state  of  distraction  and  disquiet  in   which 
the  strength  of  these  affections  is  expended  on  frivo- 
lous, and  sinful,  and  debasing  objects,  and  when  the 
principle  of  selfishness  is  perpetually  leading  to  dis- 
appointment and  vexation  of  spirit,  by  the  very  means 
which  it  employs  to  obtain  gratification.      The   cir- 
cum.stanccs,  too,  in  which  the  Apostle  wrote,  go  to 
confirm   this  interpretation  ;  for  though  he  does  as- 
suredly speak  of  the  kingdom  of  God  as  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  divine  principle  in  the  heart,  yet  he  is 


XXVll 

obviously. referring  also  to  the  manifestation  of  this 
principle  in  the  intercourse  and  fellowship  of  Chris- 
tians with  one  another;  and  it  can  require  no  argu- 
ment to  show,  that,  in  proportion  as  the  peace  of 
which  we  are  now  speaking  is  established  in  the 
hearts  of  individuals,  it  must  promote  peace,  and 
harmony,  and  love  among  Christians  in  their  collec- 
tive capacity.  The  Apostle  in  fact  is  just  stating  the 
practical  effect  of  that  righteousness  to  which  he  had 
previously  referred  as  constituting  the  kingdom  of 
God  in  the  soul ;  and  is  virtually  telling  us  that  peace 
is  as  necessarily  the  effect  of  such  a  state  of  the  heart, 
as  distrust,  and  dissatisfaction,  and  perplexity  are  of 
the  opposite  state.  Nor  is  it  difficult  to  see,  that  from 
the  very  nature  of  things  it  must  be  so.  So  long 
as  a  law  is  felt  and  regarded  only  as  a  mandate  of 
authority,  however  reasonable  it  may  be  in  itself,  or 
however  bitter  may  be  the  consequences  of  offending 
against  it,  there  may  be  no  pleasure  felt  in  yielding 
an  external  obedience  to  it ;  and  it  will  accordingly 
be  found,  that  there  is  often  a  great  deal  of  outward 
respect  paid  to  the  letter  of  the  divine  command- 
ments, while  they  who  do  so  are  utter  strangers  to 
solid  or  permanent  peace  of  mind — nay,  subject  to 
all  the  insecurity,  and  fear,  and  disappointment,  to 
which  mankind,  in  a  state  of  alienation  from  God,  are 
every  instant  exposed.  But  the  establishment  of  the 
kingdom  of  God  in  the  heart  consists  in  rendering 
the  divine  law  a  law  of  love,  and  in  so  far  as  it  is  felt 
to  be  so,  it  is  very  obvious  that  there  will  be  nothing 
painful  or  constrained  in  the  submission  which  is  paid 
to  it — that  the  more  extensively  the  influence  of  this 
law  operates,  the  farther  is  the  believer  removed  from 

B  2 


XXVlll 

all  that  would  disturb  or  distract  him — and  that 
when  its  authority  has  been  completely  established, 
in  the  entire  subjugation  of  every  desire  and  affec- 
tion of  the  soul,  his  peace  will  also  be  placed  beyond 
the  reach  of  every  inroad.  Nor  would  the  conse- 
quences of  such  a  state  of  things  be  less  palpable,  as 
it  regards  Christians  collectively,  than  as  it  relates 
to  the  experience  of  individuals;  for  were  the  law  of 
love  in  general  and  active  operation  in  a  community, 
where  would  be  the  dissension,  the  animosities,  and 
the  intemperance  by  which  the  peace  even  of  Chris- 
tian societies  is  often  disturbed,  and  the  advancement 
of  truth  and  righteousness  retarded  ?  Such  a  state 
indeed  may  never  yet  have  been  exemplified,  nor  do 
we  allege  that  it  ever  can  be  perfectly  so  in  the  pre- 
sent life.  But  in  as  far  as  there  is  an. approach  to 
it,  either  in  the  case  of  individuals,  or  societies,  to 
that  extent  the  kingdom  of  God  has  been  established, 
but  no  farther;  and  this  kingdom  will  be  perfected, 
only  when  every  individual  of  its  subjects  is  brought 
into  entire  subjection  to  the  law  of  love  ;  and  when  it 
will  be  as  impossible  for  them  to  make  any  inroad  on 
the  peace  of  one  another,  as  it  would  be  deliberately 
to  surrender  their  own. 

But  there  is  still  another  principle  which  the 
Apostle  sets  forth  as  constituting  the  kingdom  of 
God  in  the  soul,  namely,  "joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 
And  while  by  this  declaration  he  has  established  the 
truth  of  the  general  proposition,  that  this  kingdom 
consists  not  in  any  system  of  external  observances, 
but  in  the  state  of  the  heart  and  affections ;  he  has 
directed  us  also  to  the  great  agency  by  which  the 
transformation  of  the  inner  man,  of  which  we  have 


XXIX 

been   speaking,    is    in    every   case   brought    about. 
Though  it  is  in  virtue  of  the  obedience,   and  suffer- 
ings, and  death  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  sin- 
ners  are   reconciled   unto    God,   and   received   into 
favour;  and  though  it  is  thus  that  God  manifests 
his  righteousness  in  treating  the  ungodly  as  righ- 
teous;  yet  the   whole  tenor   of  Scripture   goes  to 
show,  that  this  revelation  of  the  divine  character  does 
not  actually   operate  with  any   efficacious  influence 
on   sinners   but  through    the  agency   of  the  Holy 
Ghost — that  if  the   claims  of  the  divine  law,  and 
the  awful  nature  of  its  sanctions,  do  so  convict  them 
of  guilt,   and  so  alarm   them  with  apprehensions  of 
danger,  as  to  prompt  them  to  seek  after  a  hiding 
place  from  the  storm,  and  a  covert  from  the  tempest, 
it  is  because  the  Spirit  of  God  has  given  power  and 
efficacy  to  the  word,  whereby  it  has  become  quick 
and  powerful,  and  sharper  than  any  two-edged  sword 
— that  if  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  leads  them  to 
take  refuge  in  the  righteousness  of  the  Redeemer, 
it  is  because  the  same  divine  teacher  has  opened  their 
eyes  to  the  security  of  that  refuge,  and  subdued  them 
under  an  overwhelming  sense  of  the  love  and  mercy 
which  provided  it — and  that  if  they  become  partakers 
of  everlasting  consolation  and  good  hope  through 
grace,  it  is  because  he  has  made  the  efficacy  of  the 
Redeemer's  blood,  and  the  riches  of  his  grace,  and 
the  faithfulness  of  his  promises,  to  stand  forth  so 
clearly  revealed,  and  so  distinctly  realized  to  their 
apprehension,  as  to  furnish  them  with  a  solid  ground 
of  confidence  towards  God.      Believers  feel  assured 
that  all  this  is  the  effect  of  the  immediate  agency  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  because  that  effect  is  ascribed  to 


XXX 

him  in  Scripture,  and  because  their  own  experience 
bears  testimony  to  the  same  truth ;  inasmuch  as  they 
know  enough  of  the  perverseness  of  their  understand- 
ing and  the  natural  enmity  of  their  minds  against 
Godj  to  be  convinced,  that,  but  for  the  enlighten- 
ing, and  convincing,  and  converting  influences  of  the 
Spirit,  they  should  have  remained  for  ever  in  a  state 
of  alienation  from  God — terrified,  it  may  be,  by  some 
occasional  misjjivino's  of  conscience,  but  altogether 
unaffected  by  the  manifestation  of  his  love,  and  the 
invitation  of  his  mercy.  Whatever,  therefore,  may 
be  the  peace  and  joy  which  they  have  experienced  in 
believing — whatever  may  be  the  security  and  com- 
fort which  they  have  felt  in  approaching  God,  pour- 
ing out  their  hearts  before  him,  and  unreservedly 
committing  their  way  to  his  direction — and  whatever 
enlargement  of  heart  may  have  been  brought  to  them, 
while  meditating  on  the  unsearchable  depth  of  the 
love  and  mercy  of  Christ,  it  is  to  the  immediate 
agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  that  they  are  indebted  for 
it  all — knowing,  as  they  do,  that  but  for  this  agency, 
the  divine  record  which  furnishes  them  'matter  for 
holy  meditation,  and  counsel  to  direct  them  in  sea- 
sons of  perplexity,  and  exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises  to  sustain  them  in  times  of  trial  and  tribu- 
lation, would  have  been  to  them  a  sealed  book.  It 
is  indeed  a  very  solemn  thought,  that  they  are  the 
subjects  of  a  divine  influence — that  they  are  in  im- 
mediate contact  with  the  Spirit  of  all  holiness,  and 
purity,  and  truth — and  that  the  wilful  indulgence  of 
every  unholy  affection,  and  the  commission  of  every 
knovvn  sin,  is  a  deliberate  act  of  resistance  to  the 
Spirit's  agency.      But  it  is,  at  the  same  time,  a  very 


XXXI 

animating  thought,  that  they  should  thus  be  ad- 
mitted to  intimate  fellowship  with  Him  ;  and,  while 
every  step  that  they  advance  towards  a  conformity  to 
the  divine  image,  furnishes  a  new  ground  of  joy  and 
gratitude  to  him  in  whose  strength  they  made  it,  the 
fact,  that  it  is  the  Spirit's  work,  forbids  them  to  set 
any  limits  to  their  advancement,  short  of  the  full 
maturity  of  holiness,  and  the  full  measures  of  bless- 
edness, of  which  their  nature  is  capable.  As  often 
as  they  betake  themselves  to  prayer,  meditation, 
hearing  the  word,  or  any  other  spiritual  exercise, 
they  are  encouraged  to  hope  and  believe  that  then 
they  will  be  admitted  to  immediate  fellowship  with 
the  Holy  Ghost — it  is  held  out  to  them  as  a  most 
powerful  motive  to  engage  in  such  exercises,  that  he 
will  be  ready  to  help  their  infirmities,  to  quicken 
their  desires  after  God,  and  to  lead  them  ifrito  all  the 
truth — and  as  often  as  they  find  in  these  exercises, 
the  consolation  and  refreshment  which  they  sought 
for,  it  is  just  an  intimation  to  them  that  His  gracious 
influence  was  present ;  and  thus,  every  new  accession 
which  is  made  to  the  light,  and  life,  and  spiritual 
comfort  of  believers,  is  a  practical  illustration  of  the 
truth,  that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  joy  in  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

We  are  aware,  that  in  these  remarks  we  have 
only  hinted  at  the  import  of  the  language  employed 
by  the  Apostle ;  and  have  exhibited,  therefore,  but 
a  very  imperfect  view  of  what  it  is  that  constitutes 
the  kingdom  of  God.  But,  for  a  very  full  and  clear 
exposition  of  the  subject,  we  refer  to  the  following 
Treatise,  which  none,  we  think,  can  peruse  with 
attention  without  receiving  from  it  very  serious  and 


xxxu 

salutary  impressions,  and  without  being  convinced 
that  the  kingdom  of  God  is  a  very  different  thing 
indeed  from  a  mere  assent  to  certain  matters  of 
opinion,  and  an  outward  conformity  to  certain  ap- 
pointed ordinances.  We  know  few  treatises,  in- 
deed, better  fitted  than  Shaw's  Emmanuel,  to 
awaken  solemn  reflection,  and  lead  to  deep  heart- 
searching,  and  self-examination.  The  formalist  will 
find  it  difficult  to  make  his  escape  from  the  scrutiny 
to  which  it  subjects  him,  without  being  convinced 
that  all  is  not  right  with  him ;  and  the  believer  will 
hardly  fail  to  discover  from  it,  how  far  he  still  stands 
from  that  perfection  after  which  he  is  taught  to 
aspire.  And  if  the  kingdom  of  God  be  any  thing 
like  what  is  set  forth  in  this  Treatise,  then  how  far 
are  those  persons  from  that  kingdom,  with  whom  it 
has  never  been  a  question  of  deep  and  serious  con- 
cernment how  their  hearts  stand  affected  towards 
him  ;  who  have  never  conceived  of  that  kingdom  as 
of  something  within  them — a  power  which  subju- 
gates all  the  desires  and  affections,  and  faculties  of 
the  soul ;  and  who  have  not  been  made  to  understand, 
that  instead  of  providing  for  their  well-being  without 
interfering  with  their  natural  propensities,  the  hap- 
piness which  it  bestows  on  its  subjects  consists,  in 
detaching  them  from  their  dearest  gratifications,  and 
qualifying  them  for  the  enjoyment  of  what  to  the 
natural  man  is  utterly  distasteful.  While  such  is 
the  delusion  under  which  sinners  are  labouring,  it  is, 
we  fear,  but  too  evident,  that  they  have  never  con- 
ceived aright  either  of  the  sinfulness  or  the  misery  of 
their  condition  ;  and  have  never  been  persuaded  to 
betake  themselves  to  Him,  whose  blood  alone  can 


XXXlll 

wash  them  from  their  guilt.      But  to  say  nothing  of 
the  solemn  consideration,  that  this   guilt  still  stands 
against  them  unforgiven,  we  would  entreat  them  to 
reflect,  what  kind  of  happiness  it  is  that  they  expect 
hereafter  to  enjoy.      The  respect  which  they  show 
for  the  letter  of  the  law  which    God  has  revealed, 
and  the  form  of  those  religious  ordinances  which  he 
has  appointed,  is  virtually  a  declaration  on  their  part 
that  they  cannot  be  akogether  indifferent  to  his  dis- 
pleasure ;   while,  in  resting  contented,  and   at  ease, 
with  this  form  of  godUness,  they  do  in  reality  ex- 
press their  hope,  that  this  displeasure  is,  or  will  be, 
turned  away  from  them.      Without  inquiring,  then, 
into  the  foundation  of  this  hope,  and  even  admitting 
that  it  is  well  founded,  we  would  ask  them,   what  it 
is  that  they  hope  for  ?      Of  righteousness  and  peace, 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,  as  constituting  the  king- 
dom of  God,  they  are  practically  ignorant ;   and  they 
must  be  conscious,  that  so  far  from  longing  to  be  in 
possession  of  these,  a  state  of  mind  so  spiritual  and 
so  holy,  as  the  prevalence  of  such  principles  would 
imply,  stands   directly  opposed   to  all   their  natural 
inclinations  and  desires,  and  is  in  reality  altogether 
offensive  to  them.      And  what,  then,  do  they  under- 
stand by  being  admitted  into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  ^ 
or  what  is  it  that  they  expect  to  enjoy  there,  if  they 
are  admitted  ?      Even  on  the  supposition  that  they 
are  ultimately  put  in  possession  of  it,  though  in  this 
life    they    remain    experimentally    strangers    to    its 
nature,  still  that  kingdom,   as  it  will  hereafter  exist, 
must  be  what  the  Apostle  has  represented  j  and  can 
they  really  allege,  that  they  hope  then  to  be,   what 
they  are  now  most  unwilling  to  become  ?      It  is  im- 

B  3 


XXXIV 

possible  to  express  the  infatuation  which  such  an  idea 
implies;  but,  supposing  that  they  do  avow  such  a  hope, 
and  allege  that  they  shall  undergo  such  a  change  as 
will  qualify  them  for  the  enjoyment  of  what  they  hope 
for,  they  cannot  surely  believe,  that  this  change  willbe 
effected  without  any  consent  or  concurrence  of  theirs, 
or  that  they  will  be  compelled  to  love,  what  in  reality 
they  dislike.  The  whole  tenor  of  Scripture  goes 
distinctly  to  show,  that  wherever  this  change  takes 
place,  it  is  by  the  manifestation  of  the  truth  to  the 
conscience — even  the  precious  truth,  that  God  spared 
not  his  own  Son,  but  freely  gave  him  up  to  the  death 
for  sinners ;  if  to  this  truth  they  remain  insensible, 
there  is  no  other  consideration  by  which  they  can 
ever  be  brought  to  entertain  affectionate  thoughts  of 
God,  or  to  long  for  the  enjoyment  of  his  fellowship  ; 
and  their  hope,  therefore,  express  it  as  they  will, 
does  still  involve  the  strange  contradiction,  of  pro- 
fessedly hoping  for  what  they  cannot  think  of  but 
with  aversion  and  dislike.  It  is  indeed  a  miserable 
delusion  to  suppose,  that  the  happiness  of  heaven 
hereafter  may  be  possessed  and  enjoyed  without  any 
such  change  taking  place  here  in  the  state  of  the 
heart  and  affections  as  may  adapt  them  to  the  nature 
of  that  happiness ;  or  that  it  consists  in  any  thing 
else  than  the  full  and  uninterrupted  enjoyment  of 
that  communion  with  God,  which  commences  at  the 
moment  of  the  sinner's  conversion,  and  which  it  is 
the  great  object  of  all  the  discipline  of  God's  pro- 
vidence, the  methods  of  his  grace,  and  the  influences 
of  his  Spirit,  to  sustain  and  perfect.  Of  this  truth 
the  Christian  cannot  be  ignorant,  but  he  may  require 


XXXV 

to  be  put  in  remembrance  of  it ;  and  we  would, 
therefore,  remind  him,  that  the  kingdom  of  God  here 
is  essentially  the  same  that  it  will  be  hereafter ;  that 
it  began  to  be  established  in  his  heart  from  the  mo- 
ment that  he  experienced  the  constraining  influence 
of  the  love  of  Christ ;  and  that  it  approaches  nearer 
to  its  full  establishment,  just  as  he  continues  more 
and  more  to  abound  in  "  righteousness,  and  peace, 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost." 

R.  G. 

Edinburgh,  January^  1829. 


CONTENTS. 


Page 

Preface,     .........         43 

CHAP.  I.  The  original  of  true  religion.  All  souls  the  off- 
spring of  God  ;  but  godly  souls  yet  more  especially.  God 
the  author  of  religion  from  without;  God  the  author  of  it 
from  within,  enlightening  the  faculty.  Religion  some- 
thing of  God  in  the  soul.  A  discovery  of  religious  men 
by  the  affinity  that  they  have  to  God.  God  alone  to  be 
acknowledged  in  all  holy  accomplishments,     .         .         .79 

CHAP.  II.  True  religion  described  by  water  i  1.  By  rea- 
son of  the  cleansing  virtue  of  it.  2.  By  reason  of  the 
quenching  virtue  of  it.  The  nature  of  religion  described 
by  a  well  of  water :  That  it  is  a  principle  in  the  souls  of 
men.  An  examination  of  religion  by  this  test.  A  godly 
man  hath  neither  the  whole  of  his  business,  nor  his  mo- 
tives, lying  without  him.  In  the  same  examination, 
many  things  internal  found  not  to  be  religion,  ,        .  100 

CHAP.  III.  Containing  the  first  property  mentioned  of 
true  religion,  namely,  The  freeness  and  unconstrainedness 
of  it.  This  freedom  considered  as  to  its  Author ;  in  which 
is  considered  how  far  the  command  of  God  may  be  said 
to  act  a  godly  soul.  Secondly,  considered  as  to  its  object. 
Two  cautionary  concessions:  1.  That  some  things  with- 
out the  soul  may  be  said  to  be  motives.  2.  That  there 
is  a  constraint  lying  upon  the  godly  soul  j  which  yet  takes 
not  away  its  freedom,        .        .        .        .        .        .        122 


XXXviii  CONTENTS. 

Page 
CHAP.  IV.  The  active  and  vigorous  nature  of  true  religion 

proved  by  many  scriptural  phrases  of  the  most  powerful 

importance ;   more  particularly  explained  in  three  things  ; 

1.  In  the  soul's  continual  care  and  study  to  be  good. 

2.  In  its  care  to  do  good.     3.  In  its  powerful  and  inces- 
sant longings  after  the  most  full  enjoyment  of  God,        .     143 

CHAP.  V.  An  expostulation  with  Christians  concerning 
their  remiss  and  sluggish  temper;  an  attempt  to  convince 
them  of  it  by  some  considerations  ;  which  are,  1.  The 
activity  of  worldly  men.  2.  The  restless  appetites  of  tli« 
body.  3.  The  strong  propensions  of  every  creature  to- 
wards its  own  centre  :  an  inquiry  into  the  slothfulness 
and  inactivity  of  Christian  souls.  The  grace  of  faith 
vindicated  from  the  slander  of  being  merely  passive.  A 
short  attempt  to  awaken  Christians  unto  greater  vigour 
and  activity, 166 

CHAP.  VI.  That  religion  is  a  lasting  and  persevering 
principle  in  the  souls  of  men.  The  grounds  of  this  per- 
severance assigned;  first,  negatively,  it  doth  not  arise 
from  the  absolute  impossibility  of  losing  of  grace  in  the 
creature,  nor  from  the  strength  of  man's  free-will.  Se- 
condly, affirmatively,  the  grace  of  election  cannot  fail. 
The  grace  of  justification  is  neither  suspended  nor 
violated :  the  covenant  of  grace  is  everlasting :  the  Me- 
diator of  this  covenant  lives  for  ever :  the  promises  of  it 
immutable;  the  righteousness  brought  in  by  the  Messiah 
everlasting.  An  objection  answered  concerning  a  re- 
generate man's  willing  his  own  apostacy.  An  objection 
answered,  drawn  from  the  falls  of  saints  in  Scripture.  A 
discovery  of  counterfeit  religion,  and  the  shameful  apos- 
tacy of  false  professors.  An  encouragement  to  all  holy 
diligence,  from  the  consideration  of  this  doctrine,        .         181 

CHAP.  VII.  Religion  considered  in  the  consequent  of  not 
thirsting:  divine  grace  gives  a  solid  satisfaction  to  the 
soul.  This  aphorism  confirmed  by  some  Scriptures,  and 
largely  explained  in  six  propositions.  First,  that  there  is 
a  raging  thirst  in  every  soul  of  man,  after  some  ultimate 


CONTENTS.  XXxix 

.  „  ^ag€ 

and  satisfactory  good.     Second,  that  every  natural  man 

thirsteth  principally  after  happiness  in  the  creature.  Third, 
that  uo  man  can  find  that  soul-filling  satisfaction  in 
any  creature  enjoyment.  Fourth,  that  grace  takes  not 
away  the  soul's  thirst  after  happiness.  Fifth,  that  the 
godly  soul  thirsteth  no  more  after  rest  in  any  worldly 
thing,  but  in  God  alone  ;  how  far  a  godly  man  may  be 
said  to  thirst  after  the  creature.  Sixth,  that  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  God  the  soul  is  at  rest ;  and  this  in  a  double 
sense,  namely,  so  as  that  it  is  perfectly  matched  with  its 
object.  Secondly,  so  satisfied  as  to  have  joy  and  pleasure 
in  him.  The  chapter  concludes  with  a  passionate  lamen- 
tation over  the  levity  and  earthliness  of  Christian  minds,     207 

CHAP.  VIII.  The  term  or  end  of  religion,  eternal  life, 
considered  in  a  double  notion :  First,  as  it  signifies  the 
essential  happiness  of  the  soul.  Second,  as  it  takes  in 
many  glorious  appendixes.  The  noble  and  genuine  breath- 
ings of  the  godly  soul  after,  and  springing  up  into,  the 
former.  The  argument  drawn  from  the  example  of  Christ. 
Moses  and  Paul  moderated.  It  ends  in  a  serious  exhorta- 
tion made  to  Christians,  to  live  and  love  more  spiritually, 
more  suitably  to  the  nature  of  souls,  redeemed  souls, 
resulting  from  the  whole  discourse,  ,         .         .         247 


ON  COMMUNION  WITH  GOD,  .        .        .         263 


EMMANUEL. 


PREFACE. 


Amongst  the  many  stupendous  spectacles  tliat  are 
wont  to  surprise  and  amuse  inquisitive  minds,  there 
seems  to  be  nothing  in  the  world  sadder  and  more 
astonishing,  than  the  small  progress  of  the  Christian 
religion.  This  I  call  a  sad  observation,  because 
religion  is  a  matter  of  the  most  weighty  and  neces- 
sary importance,  without  which  it  is  not  possible  for 
an  immortal  soul  to  be  perfected  and  made  happy : 
I  call  it  astonishing,  because  the  Christian  religion 
hath  in  itself  such  advantages  of  recommending  itself 
to  the  minds  of  men,  and  contains  such  mighty 
engines  to  work  them  into  a  hearty  compliance  with 
it,  and  to  captivate  their  reason  to  itself,  as  no  other 
religion  in  the  vvorld  can  with  any  face  pretend  to. 
1  do  earnestly,  and  I  suppose  rationally  and  scrip- 
turally,  hope  that  this  great  truth,  those  sacred  oracles, 
will  yet  more  prevail ;  and  that  the  Founder  of  this 
most  excellent  religion,  who  was  lifted  up  upon  the 
cross,  and  is  now  exalted  to  his  throne,  will  yet  draw 
more  men  unto  himself:  and  tliis,  perhaps,  is  all  the 
millennium  that  we  can  warrantably  look  for.  But, 
in  the  mean  time,   it  is  too  too  evident,   that  the 


44. 

kingdom  of  Satan  doth  more  obtain  in  the  world, 
than  the  gospel  of  Christ,  either  in  the  letter,  or 
power  of  it.  As  to  the  former,  if  we  will  receive 
the  probable  conjecture  of  learned  inquirers,  we  shall 
not  find  above  one  sixth  part  of  the  known  world 
yet  Christianized,  or  giving  so  much  as  an  external 
adoration  to  the  crucified  Jesus.  As  to  the  latter, 
I  will  not  be  so  bold  as  to  make  any  arithmetical 
conjectures,  but  judge  it  more  becoming  a  charitable 
and  Christian  spirit,  to  sit  down  in  secret,  and  weep 
over  that  sad  but  true  account  given  in  the  gospel, 
"  Few  are  chosen ;"  and  again,  "  Few  there  be  that 
find  it;"  being  grieved,  after  the  example  of  my 
compassionate  Redeemer,  "  for  the  hardness  of  their 
hearts,"  and  praying  with  Joab,  in  another  case, 
"  The  Lord  make  his  people  an  hundred  times  so 
many  more  as  they  be  !"  It  is  not  my  present 
purpose,  to  inquire  into  the  immediate  causes  of  the 
non-propagation  of  the  gospel  in  the  former  sense; 
only  it  is  easy  to  guess,  that  few  will  enter  in  by 
the  way  of  the  tree  of  life,  when  it  is  guarded  with 
a  flaming  sword  !  And  it  were  reasonable  to  hope, 
that  if  the  minds  of  Christians  were  more  purged 
from  a  selfish  bitterness,  fierce  animosity,  and  arbi- 
trary sourness,  and  possessed  with  a  more  free, 
generous,  benign,  compassionate,  condescending, 
candid,  charitable,  and  Christ-like  spirit,  which 
would  be  indulgent  toward  such  as  are,  for  the  pre- 
sent, under  a  less  perfect  dispensation,  as  our  Savi- 
our's was,  would  not  impose  any  thing  harsh  or 
unnecessary  upon  the  sacred  and  inviolable  con- 
science of  men,  but  would  allow  that  liberty  to  men, 
which   is  just  and  natural  to   them  in   matters  of 


45 

religion,  and  no  way  forfeited  by  them ;  then,  I  say, 
it  might  be  reasonable  to  hope,  that  the  innate  power 
and  virtue  of  the  gospel  would  prove  most  victorious; 
Judaism,    Mahomedanism,    and    Paganism,    would 
melt  away  under  its  powerful  influences,   and  Satan 
himself  fail  down  as  lightning  before  it,  as  naturally 
as   the  eyelids  of  the  morning,   do  chase  away  the 
blackness  of  the  night,   when   once  they  are  lifted 
upon    the    earth.       But    my    design    is    chiefly    to 
examine  the  true  and  proper  cause  of  the  non-pro- 
gress of  the  gospel,  as  to  the  power  of  it,   and  its 
inefficaciousness  upon   the  hearts  and  consciences  of 
those  that  do  profess  it.      And  now,  in  finding  out 
the  cause  hereof,  I  shall  content  myself  to  be  wise 
on  this  side  heaven,   leaving  that  prying  course   of 
searching  the  decrees  of  God,   and  rifling  into  the 
hidden  rolls  of  eternity,  to  those  who  can  digest  the 
uncomfortable  notion  of  a  self-willed,   arbitrary,  and 
imperious  deity  ;    which,   I  fear,  is  the  most  vulgar 
apprehension    of   God,    men   measuring    him   most 
grossly  and  unhappily  by  a  self-standard.      And  as  I 
dare  not  soar  so  high,  so  neither  will  I  adventure  to 
stoop   so   low,    as   to   dive   into    particulars;    which 
are   differently  assigned,   according  to  the  different 
humours  and  interests  of  those  that  do  assign  them; 
each  party  in  the  world  being  so  exceedingly  favour- 
able to  itself,   as  to  be  ready   to   say,   with   David, 
"  The  earth  and   all  the  inhabitants  of  it,   are  dis- 
solved;   I  bear  up  the  pillars  of  it;"   ready  to  think 
that  the   very  interest  of  religion   in  the   world   is 
involved  in  them  and  their  persuasions  and  dogmas, 
and  that  the  whole  church  is  undone,  if  but  a  hair 
fall  from  their  heads,  if  they  be  in  the  least  injured 


46 

or  abridged;  which  is  a  piece  of  very  great  fondness, 
and  indeed  the  more  unpardonable,  in  as  much  as  it 
destroys  the  design  of  the  gospel,  in  confining  and 
liraitincp  the  Holy  One  of  Israel,  and  making  God 
as  topical,  as  he  was,  when  he  dwelt  no  where  upon 
earth,  but  at  the  temple  in  Jerusalem. 

Waiving  these  extremes,  therefore,  I  conceive  the 
true  cause,  in  general,  of  the  so  little  prevalence  of 
true  religion  in  the  hearts  and  lives  of  men,  is,  the 
false  notion  that  men  have  of  it,  placing  it  where 
indeed  it  is  not,  nor  doth  consist.  That  this  must 
needs  be  a  cause  of  the  not  prevailing  of  the  gospel 
wherever  it  is  found,  I  suppose  every  body  will 
grant ;  and  that  it  is  almost  every  where  to  be  found, 
will,  I  doubt,  too  evidently  appear  by  that  descrip- 
tion of  the  true  Christian  religion,  which  the  most 
sacred  author  of  it,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  made  to 
the  poor  Samaritaness;  which  I  have  endeavoured 
briefly  to  explain,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the 
gospel,  in  this  small  Treatise;  which  I  first  framed 
for  private  use,  in  a  season  when  it  was  most  neces- 
sary for  me  to  understand  the  utmost  secrets  of  my 
own  soul,  and  do  the  utmost  service  I  was  able 
towards  the  salvation  of  those  that  were  under  my 
roof;  expecting  every  day  to  render  up  my  own  or 
their  souls  into  the  arms  of  our  most  merciful 
Redeemer,  and  to  be  fully  swallowed*  up  into  that 
eternal  life,  into  whicli  true  rehgion  daily  springs 
up,  and  will,  at  length,  infallibly  conduct  the  Chris- 
tian soul.  This  work,  thus  undertaken,  and  in  a 
great  measure  then  carried  on,  I  have  since  perfected, 
and  do  here  present  to  the  perusal  of  my  dear 
country,  having  made  it  public  for  no  private  end ; 


47 

but  if  it  might  serve  the  interest  of  God's  glory  in 
the  world;  which  I  do  verily  reckon  that  I  shall  do, 
if,  by  his  blessing,  I  may  be  instrumental  to  unde- 
ceive any  soul,  mistaken  in  so  high  and  important  a 
matter  as  religion  is,  or  any  way  to  awaken  and 
quicken  any  religious  soul  not  sufficiently  ravished 
with  the  unspeakable  glory,  nor  cheerfully  enough 
springing  up  into  the  full  fruition  of  eternal  life. 

What  a  certain  and  undefeatable  tendency  true 
religion  hath  towards  the  eternal  happiness  and  sal- 
vation of  men's  souls,  will,  I  hope,  evidently  appear 
from  this  small  Treatise :  but  that  is  not  all  (though 
indeed  that  were  enough  to  commend  it  to  any 
rational  soul,  that  is  any  whit  free  and  ingenuous, 
and  is  not  so  perfectly  debauched,  as  to  apostatize 
utterly  from  right  reason ;)  for  it  is  also  the  sincerest 
policy  imaginable,  and  the  most  unerring  expedient 
in  the  world,  for  the  uniting  and  establishing  of  a 
divided  and  tottering  kingdom  :  to  demonstrate  which 
was  the  very  design  of  this  preface.  It  is  vvell 
known,  O  that  it  were  but  as  well  and  eflPectually 
believed  !  that  "  godliness  is  profitable  to  all  things," 
and  that  it  hath  the  promises  and  blessings  of  the 
*'  life  that  now  is,  and  of  that  which  is  to  come;" 
that  the  right  seeking  of  the  kingdom  of  God,  and 
his  righteousness,  hath  no  less  than  all  things 
annexed  to  it.  How  immeasurable  is  that  blessed- 
ness, to  which  all  the  comforts  of  this  life  are  to  be 
as  an  appendix  to  a  volume  !  But  men  are  apt  to 
shuffle  off"  generals;  therefore  I  will  descend  to 
instances,  and  show,  in  a  few  particulars,  what  a 
mighty  influence  religion,  in  the  power  of  it,  would 
certainly  have,  on  the  political  happiness  and  flourish- 


48 

ing  state  of  a  nation.  Wherein  I  hope  to  make 
appear,  that  not  religion,  as  some  slanderously  report, 
but  the  want  of  it,  is  the  immediate  troubler  of  every 
nation,  and  individual  society;  yea,  and  soul  too; 
according  to  that  golden  saying  of  the  holy  Apostle, 
"  From  whence  come  wars  and  fightings?  come  they 
not  hence,  even  of  your  lusts  that  war  in  your 
members?"  Here  let  me  desire  one  thing  of  the 
reader,  and  that  is,  to  bear  in  his  mind  all  along, 
where  he  finds  the  word  Religion,  that  I  have-princi- 
pally a  respect  to  the  description  given  of  it  in  the 
text,  and  that  I  mean  thereby  ^'  a  divine  principle 
implanted  in  the  soul,  springing  up  into  everlasting 
life." 

And  now  I  should  briefly  touch  those  faults, 
both  in  governors  towards  their  subjects,  subjects 
towards  their  governors,  and  towards  each  other, 
which  destroy  the  peaceful  state,  and  the  sound  and 
happy  constitution  of  a  body-politic:  and  indeed  I 
fear  it  will  produce  some  inconvenience,  if  not  con- 
fusion, to  waive  this  method.  But  out  of  a  pure 
desire  to  avoid  whatever  may  be  interpretable  to 
ill-will,  curiosity,  presumption,  or  any  other  bad  dis- 
position, and  that  it  may  appear  to  any  ingenuous 
eye,  that  I  am  more  desirous  to  unite  us,  than  to 
rake  into  sores,  I  will  expressly  show  how  religion 
would  heal  the  distempers  of  any  nation,  without 
taking  any  more  than  an  implicit  notice  of  the  dis- 
tempers themselves. 

First,  then.  It  is  undoubtedly  true,  that  religion, 
deeply  radicated  in  the  nature  of  princes  and  gover- 
nors, would  most  effectually  qualify  them  for  the 
most  happy  way  of  reigning.      Every  body  knows 


49 

well  enough  what  an  excellent  euchrasy^  and  lovely 
constitution,  the  Jewish  polity  was  in,  under  the  in- 
fluences of  holy  David,  wise  Solomon,  devout  Heze- 
kiah,  zealous  Josiah,  and  others  of  the  same  spirit ; 
so  that  I  need  not  spend  myself  in  that  inquiry  ;  and 
so,  consequently,  not  upon  that  argument.  Now, 
there  are  many  ways,  by  which  it  is  easy  to  conceive 
that  religion  would  rectify  and  well-temper  the  spirits 
of  princes. 

This  principle  will  verily  constitute  the  most 
noble,  heroical,  and  royal  soul,  in  as  much  as  it  will 
not  suffer  men  to  find  any  unhallowed  satisfaction  in 
a  divine  authority,  but  will  be  springing  up  into  a 
God-like  nature,  as  their  greatest  and  most  perfect 
glory.  It  will  certainly  correct  and  limit  the  over- 
eager  affectation  of  unwieldy  greatness  and  unbound- 
ed dominion,  by  teaching  them  that  the  most  hon- 
ourable victory  in  the  world  is  self-conquest,  and 
that  the  propagation  of  the  image  and  kingdom  of 
God  in  their  own  souls  is  infinitely  preferable  to  the 
advancement  or  enlargement  of  any  temporal  juris- 
diction. 

The  same  holy  principle,  being  the  most  genuine 
offspring  of  divine  love  and  benignity,  will  also  polish 
their  rough  and  over- severe  natures,  instruct  them 
in  the  most  sweet  and  obliging  methods  of  govern- 
ment; by  assimilating  them  to  the  nature  of  God, 
who  is  infinitely  abliorrent  to  all  appearance  of  op- 
pression, and  hath  most  admirably  provided  that  his 
servants  should  not  be  slaves,  by  making  his  service 
perfect  freedom. 

The  pure  and  impartial  nature  of  God  cannot 
endure  superstitious  flatterers,  or  hypocritical  profes- 

C    ^  38 


50 

sors :  and  the  princes  of  the  earth,  that  are  regener- 
ate into  his  image,  will  also  estimate  men  according 
to  God ;  I  mean,  according  to  his  example,  who 
loves  nothing  but  the  communications  of  himself, 
and  according  to  their  participation  of  his  image, 
which  is  only  amiable  in  the  world.  What  God 
rejected  in  his  fire- offerings,  religion  will  teach 
princes  to  despise  in  the  devotions,  as  they  call  them, 
of  their  courtiers;  I  mean,  not  only  the  leaven  of 
superstitious  pride  and  dogged  morosity,  but  also 
the  honey  of  mercenary  prostrations  and  fawning 
adulations. 

In  a  word.  This  religious  principle,  which  makes 
God  its  pattern  and  end,  springs  from  him,  and  is 
always  springing  up  into  him,  would  sovereignly 
heal  the  distempers  of  ruling  by  humour,  self- 
interest,  and  arbitrariness,  and  teach  men  to  seek 
the  good  of  the  public  before  self-gratifications.  For 
so  God  rules  the  world ;  who,  however  some  men 
slander  him,  I  dare  say,  hath  made  nothing  the  duty 
of  his  creature,  but  what  is  really  the  good  of  it  : 
neither  doth  he  give  his  people  laws,  on  purpose  that 
he  might  show  his  sovereignty  in  making  them,  or 
his  justice  in  punishing  the  breach  of  them  ;  much 
less  doth  he  give  them  any  such  statutes,  as  himself 
would  as  willingly  they  broke  as  kept,  so  he  might 
but  exact  the  penalty. 

What  I  have  briefly  said  concerning  political 
governors,  the  judicious  reader  may  view  over  again, 
and  apply  to  the  ecclesiastical.  For  I  do  verily 
reckon,  that  if  the  hearts  of  these  men  were  in  that 
right  religious  temper  and  holy  order  which  I  have 
been  speaking  of,  it  would  plentifully  contribute  to- 


51 

wards  the  happy  and  blissful  state  of  any  kingdom. 
I  will  speak  freely,  let  it  light  where  it  will,  that 
principle  that  springs  up  into  popular  applause,  se- 
cular greatness,  worldly  pomp  and  bravery,  flesh- 
pleasing,  or  any  kind  of  self-exaltation,  is  really 
contradistinct  from  that  divine  principle,  that  reli- 
gious nature  that  springs  up  into  everlasting  life. 
And  certainly,  notwithstanding  all  the  recrimina- 
tions and  self-justifications  which  are,  on  all  hands, 
used  to  shuffle  ofF  the  guilt,  these  governors  must 
lay  aside  their  sullen  pride,  as  well  as  the  people 
their  proud  sullenness,  before  the  church  of  God  be 
healed  in  its  breaches,  purged  of  Antichristianism, 
or  can  probably  arrive  at  any  sound  constitution,  or 
perfect  stature. 

But  I  suppose  religion  will  not  have  its  full  and 
desirable  effect  upon  a  nation,  by  healing  the  sickly, 
and  heads  of  it ;  except  it  be  like  the  holy  oil  poured 
upon  the  sacrificer's  head,  which  ran  down  also  upon 
the  skirts  of  his  garments.      Therefore, 

Secondly,  It  is  indispensably  requisite,  for  the 
thorough  healing,  and  right  constituting  of  any  po- 
litical body,  that  the  subjects  therein  be  thus  di- 
vinely principled.  This  will  not  fail  to  dispose 
them  rightly  towards  their  governors,  and  towards 
one  another. 

1.  Towards  their  governors.  There  are  many 
evil  and  perverse  dispositions  in  subjects  towards 
their  rulers ;  all  which  religion  is  the  most  excellent 
expedient  to  rectify. 

The  first  and  fundamental  distemper  here,  seems 
to  be  a  want  of  due  reverence  towards  these  vice- 
gerents of  God  upon  earth  ;  which  easily  grows  up 

c2 


52 

into  something  positive,  and  becomes  a  secret  wish- 
ing of  evil  to  them.  This  fault,  as  light  as  some 
esteem  it,  was  severely  punished  in  queen  Michal, 
who  despised  her  lord,  king  David,  in  her  heart,  and 
her  barren  womb  went  down  to  its  sister  the  grave, 
under  great  reproach.  And  if  an  ordinary  hatred 
be  so  foully  interpreted  by  the  holy  Apostle,  "  Who- 
soever hateth  his  brother  is  a  murderer ;"  surely 
disloyal  and  malignant  dispositions  towards  governors 
must  needs  have  a  fouler  nature;  and  we  may  say, 
by  a  parity  of  reason,  "  Whosoever  hateth  his  prince 
is  a  rebel  and  a  regicide."  Now,  this  distemper,  as 
fundamental  and  epidemical  as  it  is,  the  spirit  of  true 
religion,  and  I  think  I  may  say  that  only,  will  heal ; 
for  I  know  nothing  in  the  world  that  hath,  nay,  I 
know  that  nothincp  in  the  world  hath  that  sovereisrn- 
ty  and  dominion  over  the  dispositions,  and  affections 
of  the  soul,  as  this  principle,  thoroughly  ingrafted  in 
the  soul,  doth  challenge  to  itself.  This  alone  can 
frame  the  heart  of  man  into  that  beautiful  temper 
and  complexion  of  love  and  loyalty,  that  he  will  not 
curse  the  king,  no,  not  in  his  conscience  ;  no,  not 
though  he  were  well  assured  that  there  were  no 
winded  messenger  to  tell  the  matter. 

Another  distemper  in  subjects,  in  respect  to  their 
governors,  is  impatience  of  bearing  a  yoke  ;  which  is 
an  evil  so  natural  to  the  proud  and  imperious  spirit 
of  man,  that  I  believe  it  were  safe  to  affirm,  that 
every  irreligious  subject  could  be  well  content  to  be 
a  prince ;  however  there  be  many,  who,  utterly 
despairing  of  such  an  event,  may,  with  the  fox  in 
the  fable,  profess  they  care  not  for  it.  From  this 
principle  of  pride  and  impatience  of  subjection,  I  sus- 


53 

pect  it  is  that  the  rigid  Chiliasts  do  so  scornfully 
declaim  against,  and  so  loudly  decry,  the  carnal  ordi- 
nances of  magistracy  and  ministry  :  not  that  they  do 
verily  seek  the  advancement  of  Christ's  kingdom, 
(which  indeed  every  disorderly,  tumultuous,  proud, 
impatient  soul  doth,  ipso  facto ^  deny  and  destroy,) 
but  of  themselves.  To  whom  one  might  justly 
apply  the  censure  which  Pharaoh  injuriously  passes 
upon  the  children  of  Israel,  with  a  little  alteration, 
"  Ye  are  proud,  therefore  ye  say,  let  us  go  and  do 
sacrifice  to  the  Lord."  This  distemper  the  power 
of  religion  would  excellently  heal,  by  mortifying  am- 
bitious inclinations,  and  quieting  the  impatient  tur- 
bulencies  of  the  fretful  and  envious  soul,  by  fashion- 
inor  the  heart  to  a  rifjht  humble  frame,  and  cheerful 
submission  to  every  ordination  of  God.  You  will 
see,  in  this  treatise,  that  a  right  religious  soul, 
powerfully  springing  up  into  everlasting  life,  hath  no 
desire  nor  leisure  to  attend  to  such  poor  attainments, 
as  the  lording  it  over  other  men;  being  feelingly 
acquainted  with  a  life  far  more  excellent  than  the 
most  princely,  and  being  overpowered  with  a  supreme 
and  sovereign  good,  which  charms  all  its  inordinate 
ragings,  and,  laying  hold  upon  all  its  faculties,  draws 
them  forth,  by  a  pleasing  violence,  unto  a  most  zea- 
lous pursuit  of  itself.  A  principle  of  humility  makes 
men  good  subjects  ;  and  they  that  are  indeed  pro- 
bationers for  another  world,  may  very  well  behave 
themselves  v/ith  a  noble  disdain  towards  all  the  glo- 
ries and  preferments  of  this. 

The  last  distemper  that  I  shall  name  in  subjects 
toward  their  governors,  is  discontents  about  conceived 
raisgovernment  and  mal-administration  ;  which  com- 


54 

monly  spring  from  an  evil  and  sinister  interpretation 
of  the  rulers'  actions,  and  are  attended  with  an  evil 
and  tumultuous  zeal  for  relaxation.  Now  this  dis- 
temper, as  great  as  it  is,  and  destructive  to  the  well- 
being  of  a  body  politic,  true  religion  would  heal  both 
root  and  branch.  Were  that  noble  part  and  branch 
of  the  Christian  religion,  universal  charity,  rightly 
seated  in  the  soul,  it  would  not  suffer  the  son  of  the 
bond-woman  to  inherit  with  it ;  it  would  cast  out 
those  jealousies,  sour  suspicions,  harsh  surmises,  and 
imbittered  thoughts,  which  lodge  in  unhallowed 
minds,  and  display  itself  in  a  most  amicable  sweet- 
ness and  gentleness  of  disposition,  in  fair  glosses 
upon  doubtful  actions,  friendly  censures,  or  none  at 
all,  kind  extenuations  of  greater  faults,  and  covering 
of  lesser ;  for  this  is  the  proper  genius  of  this  divine 
principle,  to  be  very  unbelieving  of  evil,  or  easily 
entertaining  of  good  reports,  gladly  interpreting  all 
things  to  a  good  meaning  that  will  possibly  admit  of 
such  construction ;  or  if  you  will,  in  the  Apostle's 
phrase,  *'  Charity  is  not  easily  provoked,  thinketh  no 
evil." 

And  as  charity  doth  cut  up  this  root  of  discon- 
tents, so  will  faith  allay  and  destroy  these  discontents 
themselves,  which  are  about  misgovernment,  and  ill- 
administration.  This  noble  principle  administers  ease 
and  satisfaction  to  the  soul,  if  she  happen  to  be  pro- 
voked :  for  it  will  not  suffer  her  long  to  stand  gazing 
upon  second  causes;  but  carries  her  up  in  a  season- 
able contemplation  to  the  Supreme  Cause,  without 
whom  no  disorder  could  ever  befall  the  world;  and 
there  commands  her  to  repose  herself,  in  the  bosom 
of  infinite  wisdom  and  grace,  waiting  for  a  comfort- 


55 

able  issue.  He  may  well  be  vexed  indeed,  tbat  has 
so  much  reason,  as  to  observe  the  many  monstrous 
disorders  which  are  in  the  world,  and  not  so  much 
faith  as  to  eye  the  inscrutable  providence  of  a  benign 
and  all-wise  God,  who  permitteth  the  same  with  re- 
spect to  the  most  beautiful  end  and  blessed  order 
imaginable.  Though  faith  abhors  the  blasphemy  of 
laying  blame  upon  God,  yet  it  so  fixes  the  soul  upon 
him,  and  causes  her  so  to  eye  his  hand  and  end  in  all 
mal-administrations  of  men,  that  she  hath  no  leisure 
to  fall  out  with  men,  or  quarrel  with  instruments. 

These  discontents,  I  said,  were  frequently  at- 
tended with  an  evil  and  seditious  zeal  for  relaxation, 
discovering  itself  in  secret  treacherous  conspiracies, 
and  many  times  in  boisterous  and  daring  attempts. 
These  are,  at  the  first  sight,  so  directly  contrary  to 
the  character  given  of  religious  men,  viz.  "  the  quiet 
of  the  land,"  and  the  genius  of  religion,  which  is 
wholly  made  up  of  *'  love,  peace,  long-suffering, 
gentleness,  goodness,  faithfulness,  meekness,  tem- 
perance, mercy,  kindness,  humbleness  of  mind,  for- 
bearance, forgiveness,  charity,  thankfulness,  wis- 
dom," that  it  is  easy  to  conceive  that  religion,  in 
the  power  of  it,  would  certainly  heal  this  evil  disease 
also.  There  are  many  pretenders  to  religion,  whose 
complaint  is  still  concerning  oppression  and  persecu- 
tion, their  cry  is  all  for  liberty  and  deliverance  :  but, 
to  make  it  the  more  passable  and  plausible,  they  style 
it  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ.  This 
pretence  is  so  fair,  but  withal  so  deceitful,  that 
I  count  it  worth  my  while  to  speak  a  little  more 
liberally  to  it.  And  here  I  do,  from  the  very  bot- 
tom of  my  soul,  protest,  that  I  account  the  advance- 


56 

ment  of  the  glory  of  God,  and  the  khigdom  of 
Christ,  to  be  the  most  desirable  thing  in  the  world ; 
and  that  it  is  highly  becoming  the  greatest  spirits 
upon  earth  to  employ  the  very  utmost  zeal  and  dili- 
gence to  assist  the  accomplishment  thereof;  yea,  so 
utterly  do  I  abhor  irreligion  and  atheism,  that,  as 
the  Apostle  speaks,  in  somewhat  a  like  case,  I  do 
verily  rejoice  that  Christ  is  professed,  though  it  be 
but  pretended,  and  that  truth  is  owned,  though  it  be 
not  owned  in  truth.  I  will  further  add,  that  the 
oppressing  and  obstructing  of  the  external  progress 
and  propagation  of  the  gospel  is  hated  of  Christ,  and 
to  be  lamented  of  all  true  Christians.  Yea,  I  will 
further  allow  men  a  due  sensibility  of  their  personal 
oppressions  and  injuries,  and  a  natural  warrantable 
desire  to  be  redeemed  from  them.  And  now,  hav- 
ing thus  purged  myself,  I  entreat  the  Christian 
reader  patiently,  and  without  prejudice,  to  suJfFer  me 
to  speak  somewhat" closely  to  this  matter  :  yea,  1  do 
verily  assure  myself,  that  I  shall  be  accepted,  or  at 
least  indulged  by  all  free  and  ingenuous  spirits,  who 
are  rightly  acquainted  with  the  genius  of  the  Chris- 
tian religion,  and  do  prefer  truth  before  interest. 

And,  first,  for  the  chief  complaint,  concerning 
oppression  and  persecution  :  certainly  if  religion  did 
rightly  prevail  in  our  hearts,  it  would  very  much  heal 
this  distemper,  if  not  by  a  perfect  silencing  of  these 
complaints,  yet  surely  by  putting  them  into  another 
temper.  I  reckon  that  religion  quite  silences  these 
complaints,  when  it  engages  the  soul  so  entirely 
in  serving  the  end  of  God  in  afflictions,  and  in  a 
right  improvement  of  them  for  religious  purposes, 
that  she  desires   not   to  spend   herself  in  fruitless 


57 

murmurlngs  and  unchristian  indignations.  As  fire 
seizeth  upon  every  thing  that  is  combustible,  and 
makes  it  fuel  for  itself;  and  a  predominant  hu- 
mour in  the  body  converts  into  its  own  substance 
whatever  is  convertible,  and  makes  it  nourishment  to 
itself;  so,  doubtless,  this  divine  principle,  if  it  were 
rightly  predominant  in  the  soul,  would  nourish  itself 
by  all  things  that  lie  in  its  way,  though  they  seem 
ever  so  heterogeneous  and  hard  to  be  digested; 
and  rather  than  want  meat,  it  would,  with  Samson, 
fetch  it  out  of  the  very  eater  himself.  But  if  re- 
ligion should  not  utterly  silence  these  complainings, 
by  rendering  the  soul  thus  forgetful  of  the  body,  and 
regardless  of  its  smart,  in  comparison  of  the  happy 
advantage  that  may  be  made  of  it;  yet,  methinks,  it 
should  draw  the  main  stream  of  these  tears  into 
another  channel,  and  put  these  complaints  into 
another  tune.  It  is  very  natural  to  the  religious 
soul  to  make  God  all  things  unto  itself,  to  lay  to 
heart  the  interest  of  truth  and  holiness  more  than 
any  particular  interest  of  its  own;  and  to  bewail  the 
disservice  done  to  God  more  than  any  self-inconve- 
nience. Must  not  he  needs  be  a  good  subject  to  his 
prince,  who  can  more  heartily  mourn  that  God's  laws 
are  not  kept,  than  that  he  himself  is  kept  under? 
that  can  be  more  grieved  that  men  are  cruel,  than 
that  they  kill  him;  that  can  be  more  troubled  be- 
cause there  are  oppressions  in  the  world,  than  because 
he  himself  is  oppressed  ?  Such  subjects  religion 
alone  can  make. 

As  for  the  cry  that  is  made  for  liberty  and  de- 
liverance; I  confess  I  do  not  easily  apprehend  what 
is  greater,   or  more  naturally  desirable    than  true 

c3 


58 

liberty :  yea,  I  believe  there  are  many  devout  and 
religious  souls,  that,  from  aright,  noble,  and  gener- 
ous principle,  and  out  of  a  sincere  respect  to  the 
Author  and  end  of  their  creation,  are  almost  intem- 
perately  studious  of  it,  do  prefer  it  above  all  prefer- 
ments, or  any  thing  that  may  be  properly  called 
sensual,  and  would  purchase  it  with  any  thing  that 
they  can  possibly  part  with.  But  yet,  that  I  may  a 
little  moderate,  if  not  quite  stifle  this  cry,  I  must 
freely  profess,  tliat  I  do  apprehend  too  much  of  sen- 
suality generally  in  it ;  because  this  liberty  is  com- 
monly abstracted  from  the  proper  end  of  it,  and 
desired  merely  as  a  naturally  convenient  good,  and 
not  under  a  right  religious  consideration.  Self-love 
is  the  very  heart  and  centre  of  the  animal  life  ;  and, 
doubtless,  this  natural  principle  is  as  truly  covetous 
of  self-preservation  and  freedom  from  all  inconveni- 
ences, grievances,  and  confinements,  as  any  religious 
principle  can  be.  And,  therefore,  I  may  well  allude 
to  our  Saviour's  words,  and  say,  '*  If  you  love  and 
desire  deliverance,"  only  under  the  notion  of  a  na- 
tural good,  "  what  do  you  more  than  others?  Do 
not  even  the  publicans  the  same  ?"  But  were  this 
divine  principle  rightly  exercising  its  sovereignty  in 
the  soul,  it  would  A^alue  all  things,  and  all  estates 
and  conditions,  only  as  they  have  a  tendency  to  the 
advancement  and  nourishment  of  itself.  With  what 
an  ordinary,  not  to  say  disdainful  eye,  would  the  re- 
ligious soul  look  upon  the  fairest  self-accommoda- 
tions in  the  world ;  and  be  ready  to  say  within  itself. 
What  is  a  mere  abstract  deliverance  from  afflictions 
worth?  wherein  is  a  naked  freedom  from  afflictions 
to  be  accounted  of?    will  this  make  me  a  blessed 


59 

man  ?  was  not  profane  and  impudent  Ham  delivered 
from  the  deluge  of  water,  as  well  as  his  brethren  ? 
were  not  the  filthy,  shameless  daughters  of  Lot  de- 
livered from  the  deluge  of  fire,  as  well  as  their 
father  ?  And  yet  we  are  so  far  from  rising  up  and 
calling  these  people  blessed,  that  the  heart  of  every 
chaste  and  modest  Christian  is  ready  to  rise  against 
the  very  mention  of  their  names,  when  he  remembers 
how  both  the  one  and  the  other,  though  in  a  diflPer- 
ent  sense,  discovered  their  father's  nakedness.  If 
we  did  really  value  ourselves  by  our  souls,  and  our 
souls  themselves  by  what  they  possess  of  the  image 
of  God,  if  we  did  rightly  prefer  the  advancement  of 
the  divine  life  before  the  gratification  of  the  animal, 
it  is  easy  to  conceive  how  we  should  prefer  patience 
before  prosperity,  faith  in  God  before  the  favour  of 
men,  spiritual  purity  before  temporal  pleasures  or 
preferments,  humiUty  before  honour,  the  denial  of 
ourselves  before  the  approbation  of  others,  the  ad- 
vancement of  God's  image  before  the  advancement 
of  our  own  names,  an  opportunity  of  exercising 
gracious  dispositions  before  the  exercising  of  any 
temporal  power  or  secular  authority  ;  and,  in  a  word, 
the  displaying  of  the  beauty,  glory,  and  perfections 
of  God  before  health,  wealth,  liberty,  livelihood, 
and  life  itself.  ,  We  should  certainly  be  more 
indifferently  affected  towards  any  condition,  whether 
prosperity  or  adversity,  and  not  to  be  so  fond  of  the 
one,  nor  weary  of  the  other,  if  we  did  verily  value 
them  only  by  the  tendency  that  they  had  to  further 
religion,  and  advance  the  life  of  Christ  in  our  souls. 
This  would  certainly  make  men  more  sincerely 
studious  to  read  God's  end  in  afflicting  them,  and 
long  less  to  see  the  end  of  their  afflictions. 


60 

And,  as  for  treacheries,  plottings,  invasions, 
usurpations,  rebellions,  and  that  tumultuous  zeai  for 
relaxation,  which  this  impatience  of  oppression,  and 
fondness  of  deliverance,  do  so  often  grow  up  into,  I 
dare  say,  there  is  nothing  like  religion,  in  the  power 
of  it,  for  the  effectual  healing  of  them.  The  true 
spirit  of  religion  is  not  so  weary  of  oppression,  though 
it  be  by  sinful  men,  as  it  is  abhorrent  from  deliver- 
ance, if  it  be  by  sinful  means.  May  I  not  be  al- 
lowed to  allude  to  the  Apostle,  and  say,  whereas 
there  is  amongst  you  this  zeal,  contention,  and  fac- 
tion, "  Are  you  not  carnal,  and  walk  as  men  ?"  Is 
not  this  the  same  which  a  mere  natural  man  would 
do,  strive,  and  struggle,  by  right  and  by  wrong,  to 
redeem  himself  from  whatsoever  is  grievous  and  gall- 
ing to  the  interest  of  the  flesh  ?  Might  it  not  be 
reasonably  supposed,  that  if  religion  did  but  display 
itself  aright  in  the  powerful  actings  of  faith,  hope, 
and  humility,  it  would  quench  the  hot  zeal,  and  calm 
these  tempestuous  motions  of  the  soul,  and  make  men 
rather  content  to  be  delivered  up  to  the  adversary, 
though  the  flesh  should  by  him  be  destroyed,  so  be 
the  spirit  might  be  saved,  and  the  divine  life  ad- 
vanced in  the  way  of  the  Lord.  Oh,  how  dear  and 
precious  are  the  possession  and  practice  of  faith,  pa- 
tience, humility,  and  self-denial,  to  a  godly  soul,  in 
comparison  of  all  the  joys,  and  toys,  treasures,  plea- 
sures, ease,  and  honour  of  the  world,  the  safety  and 
liberty  of  the  flesh  !  How  much  more,  then,  when 
these  must  be  accomplished  by  wicked  means,  and 
purchased  at  the  rate  of  God's  displeasure  !  And 
because  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  so  often  alleged  to 
defend  and   patronise   these    strange   fervours   and 


61 

frenzies,  let  me  here  briefly  record  to  all  that  shall 
read  these  lines,  the  way  and  method  of  Christ  him- 
self in  propagating  his  own  kingdom.  It  will  not  be 
denied,  but  that  Christ  was  infinitely  studious  to 
promote  his  own  kingdom,  in  the  best  and  most  pro- 
per sense:  but  I  no  where  read  that  he  ever  attempted 
it  by  force  or  fraud,  by  violent  opposition,  or  crafty 
insinuation.  Nay,  he  reckoned  that  his  kingdom 
was  truly  promoted,  when  these  tumultuous,  impa- 
tient, imperious,  proud  lusts  of  men,  were  mortified. 
Nothing  had  been  more  easy  with  him,  considering 
his  miraculous  power,  infallible  wisdom,  and  the 
mighty  interest  and  party  which  he  could,  by  these, 
have  made  for  himself  in  the  world,  than  to  have 
raised  his  own  kingdom  upon  the  ruins  of  the  Roman, 
and  to  have  quite  shuffled  Cesar  out  of  the  world : 
but,  indeed,  nothing  more  impossible,  considering 
the  perfect  innocency,  and  infinite  sacredness  of  his 
temper,  nor  any  thing  more  contradictious,  consider- 
ing the  proper  notion  of  his  kingdom,  which  he  pro- 
fesses not  to  be  secular,  and  so  not  to  be  maintained 
by  fighting.  But,  if  you  would  know  in  what  sense 
he  was  a  king,  he  himself  seems  to  intimate  it  in  his 
answer  to  Pilate,  "  Thou  sayest  that  I  am  a  king ; 
to  this  end  was  I  born,  that  I  should  bear  witness 
unto  the  truth."  So  then,  it  seems,  wherever  there 
is  truth  and  holiness  predominant,  there  is  Christ 
really  enthroned,  and  actually  triumphant.  Where 
religion  doth  vitally  inform,  animate,  and  actuate 
men's  souls,  it  doth  make  them  rightly  to  understand, 
that  the  kingdom  of  Christ  is  not  the  thriving  of 
parties,  the  strengthening  of  factions,  the  advance- 
ment of  any  particular  interest,  though  it  seem  ta 


62 

be  of  ever  so  evangelical  a  complexion;  no,  nor  yet 
the  proselyting  of  the  world  to  the  profession  of 
Christianity,  or  of  the  Christian  world  to  the  purer 
and  more  reformed  profession  of  it,  though  these 
latter  would  be  a  great  external  honour  to  the  person 
of  Christ :  but  that  it  is  most  properly  and  happily 
propagated  in  the  spirits  of  men;  and  that  wherever 
there  is  faith,  patience,  humility,  self-denial,  con- 
tempt of  this  world,  and  pregnant  hopes  of  a  better, 
pure  obedience  to  God,  and  sincere  benignity  to 
men,  here  and  there  is  the  kingdom  of  God,  Christ 
reigning,  and  the  gospel  in  the  power  and  triumph  of 
it.  And  may  not  these  things  be,  and  be  most  con- 
spicuously, in  a  persecuted  condition  of  the  church  ? 
That  certainly  was  a  high  instance  of  the  mighty 
power  of  the  divine  life  in  our  blessed  Saviour,  which 
the  Apostle  Peter  records  of  him,  who,  "  when  he 
was  reviled,  reviled  not  again;  when  he  suffered,  he 
threatened  not ;  but  committed  himself  to  him  that 
judgeth  righteously,"  The  same  divine  principle, 
dwelling  plentifully  in  our  souls,  would  instruct  us 
in  the  same  behaviour,  according  to  the  precept  given 
by  the  same  Apostle :  **  Not  rendering  evil  for  evil, 
or  railing  for  railing;  but  contrariwise,  blessing." 
How  vainly  do  men  dream  that  they  serve  the  in- 
terest, and  advance  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  by  fierce 
and  raging  endeavours  to  cast  off  every  yoke  that 
galls  them,  and  kicking  against  every  thorn  that 
pricks  them,  when  indeed  they  serve  the  interest  of 
the  flesh,  and  do,  under  a  fine  cloak,  gratify  the 
mere  animal  life,  and  sacrifice  to  self-love,  which  is 
as  covetous  of  freedom  from  all  retrenchments  and 
confinements  as  religion  itself  can  be.    It  is  said,  in- 


63 

deed,  that  when  the  churches  had  rest,  they  were 
edified  and  multiplied;  but  when  they  suffer  accord- 
ing to  the  will  of  God,  they  are  then  glorified;  for 
"  the  Spirit  of  glory  and  of  God  resteth  upon  them  :" 
as  the  Apostle  Paul  professes  of  himself  in  that  most 
noble  and  heroical  passage  of  his  to  the  Corinthians, 
"  Most  gladly,  therefore,  will  I  rather  glory  in  my  in- 
firmities, that  the  power  of  Christ  may  rest  upon  me." 

Secondly,  Religion  will  not  fail  rightly  to  dispose 
the  hearts  of  subjects  towards  one  another ;  and  that 
whether  they  be  of  the  same  way  and  judgment 
with  themselves,  or  different.  I  dare  not  assert 
that  it  would  make  them  all  of  the  same  way  and 
mind ;  neither  do  I  believe  it  would  :  yet  I  am  con- 
fident it  would  do  more  towards  this  catholic  union, 
than  all  the  laws  and  severities  in  the  world  can. 
Mutual  forbearance  and  forgiveness,  Christian  kind- 
ness, and  discreet  condescensions,  are  the  most  war- 
rantable, and  most  effectual  method  for  introducing 
uniformity,  and  unanimity  too,  which  is  much  better, 
into  the  church  of  Christ.  But,  however,  religion 
would  certainly  give  a  right  disposition,  and  teach 
men  a  right  behaviour  in  respect  to  each  other, 
whether  friends  or  dissenters. 

This  principle  would  teach  men  to  love  their 
friends  and  accomplices  only  in  the  Lord,  as  his 
members,  not  as  their  own  partizans.  Are  not 
they  strangely  devoted  to  interest,  that  will  vindicate 
any  thing  in  a  partizan,  which  they  will  declaim 
against  in  a  dissenter  ?  And  yet,  how  is  the  sacred 
name  of  Christian  friendship  reproached  every  where 
by  reason  of  this  partiality  !  How  much  better  did 
true  religion  instruct  the  great  Apostle,  "  to  know 
no  man  after  the  flesh,"  no,  not  Christ  himself. 


64 

The  same  principle  would  not  fail  to  cure  the 
distempers  of  men  with  respect  to  those  that  are  of 
a  different  way  and  judgment  from  themselves ; 
whether  of  Protestants  towards  Protestants,  or  Pro- 
testants and  Papists  one  towards  another.  It  would 
heal  the  distempered  aflPections  and  behaviours  of 
Protestants  towards  Protestants.  Were  men  tho- 
roughly baptized  into  the  spirit  of  love  and  wisdom, 
which  are  so  lively  portrayed  by  the  apostles  St. 
Paul  and  St.  James,  that  one  might  well  be  en- 
amoured of  the  very  description,  how  certainly  would 
all  oppressions,  lawsuits,  disputations  about  unpro- 
fitable and  indeterminable  points,  either  be  suppressed 
or  sanctified,  either  not  be,  or  not  be  vexatious. 
Not  to  speak  of  the  oppressions  done  by  overreach- 
ing, stealing,  lying,  false  witness-bearing,  slanderous 
detractions,  envious  suggestions,  and  malignant  dis- 
semination of  doubtful  suspicions,  by  which  commonly 
poor  men  oppress  the  rich;  all  which  true  religion 
abhors.  There  is  a  great  oppression  that  goes  un- 
controlled in  the  world,  which  is,  by  the  cruel  en- 
grossings,  and  covetous,  insatiable  tradings  of  richer 
men.  What  these  are  intentionally,  I  will  not  say; 
but  that  they  are,  really  and  eventually,  as  great  op- 
pressions as  those  inhuman  depopulations,  and  squeez- 
ing exactions,  which  are  so  much  inveighed  against, 
I  doubt  not.  But  be  they  what  they  will,  or  be 
they  excused  how  they  will,  I  am  confident  that  this 
divine  principle,  that  powerfully  springs  up  into 
everlasting  life,  would  mightily  relieve  the  world  in 
this  respect :  in  that  it  would  moderate  men's  desires 
of  corruptible  riches,  forbid  them  to  seek  the  things 
of  this  world  any  more,  or  any  otherwise,  than  in 


65 

consistency  with,  and  subserviency  to,  their  primary 
and  most  diligent  seeking  of  the  kingdom  of  God; 
it  would  make  men  seek  the  wealth  of  others  even  as 
their  own,  and  make  private  advantages  stoop  to  the 
public  good.  I  do  verily  believe,  that  if  there  were 
none  but  good  men  in  England,  there  would  be  no 
poor  men  there.  Civil  laws  may  provide  for  the 
maintenance  of  the  poor;  but  the  law  of  divine  love, 
a  principle  of  religion,  if  it  were  universally  obeyed, 
would  make  men  so  nobly  regardless  of  earthly 
accommodations,  that  there  would  soon  be  room 
enough  for  all  men  to  grow  into  a  sufficient  stature; 
and  then,  being  so  grown,  they  would  covet  no  more. 

In  lawsuits,  if  there  were  any,  men  would  seek 
the  advancement  of  truth,  and  not  of  their  own 
cause  and  interest  distinct  from  it. 

And  O  how  excellently  would  it  still  the  noi^e  of 
axes  and  hammers  about  the  temple  of  God!  It 
would  take  men  off  from  vain  speculations,  and 
much  eagerness  about  unnecessary  opinions,  by  em- 
ploying them  in  more  substantial  and  important 
studies.  The  very  being  of  religion  in  the  soul 
would  indeed  decide  a  world  of  controversies,  which 
the  schools  have  loner  laboured  in  vain  to  determine. 
For  I  reckon  that  these  scholastical  wars,  fitly  called 
Polemics,  like  those  civil  dissensions  spoken  of  by 
the  apostle  James,  do,  for  the  most  part,  spring 
from  "  men's  lusts,  that  war  in  their  members;"  such 
as  pride,  curiosity,  lasciviency  of  wit,  disobedience, 
and  unsubduedness  of  understanding,  and  the  like. 
I  have  observed,  with  great  grief,  how  the  spirits  of 
many  men,  I  had  almost  said  sects  of  men,  run  out 
wholly  into  disputes  about  ceremonies,  pro  and  cow, 


CO 

about  church-government,  about  what  is  orthodox, 
and  what  is  heterodox,  about  the  true  and  the  false 
church,  (which  commonly  they  judge  by  something 
external,  and  indeed  separable  from  the  essence  of  a 
true  church)  ;  and  upon  this  is  their  zeal,  their  con- 
ference, and  their  very  prayers  themselves,  mostly 
bestowed.  Who  can  doubt  but  that  religion,  in  the 
power  of  it,  would  find  men  something  else  to  do  ? 
yea,  and  if  it  could  not  perfectly  determine  these 
niceties,  yet  it  would  much  heal  our  dissensions 
about  them,  and  bring  tears  to  quench  the  strange 
and  unnatural  heats  that  are  amongst  us,  and  cause 
such  dreadful  inflammations  in  our  bowels. 

But  it  may  seem  that  there  is  such  a  fatal  enmity 
and  irreconcilable  feud  betwixt  Papists  and  Pro- 
testants, that  nothing,  no,  not  religion  itself,  can 
heal  it.  And  truly,  if  we  suppose  that  it  is  religion 
that  engages  both  parties  in  this  enmity,  I  think  it 
will  prove  incurable ;  but  God  forbid  that  this  pure 
offspring  of  heaven  should  be  so  blasphemed  !  It  is 
not  religion,  but  indeed  the  want  of  it,  that  begets 
this  implacable  animosity,  whatever  is  pretended. 
Cruel  religion,  bloody  religion,  selfish  religion,  en- 
vious and  revengeful  relifjion  !  Who  can  choose 
but  cry  out  of  the  blasphemy  of  this  contradiction  at 
the  very  first  hearing  ?  Nay,  I  dare  affirm  it,  with- 
out hesitation,  that  the  more  religious  any  Protestant 
or  Papist  is,  the  more  abhorrent  he  is  of  brutish 
savageness,  wicked  revenge,  and  devilish  hatred. 
The  church  of  Home  judges  the  reformed  heretics 
are  not  fit  to  live;  and  why?  Not  because  they 
live  not  well,  but  because  they  cannot  think  and  be- 
lieve as  they  do.      And  is  this  the  genuine  product 


67 

of  true  religion  ?  Nothing  less  so.  For  a  desire  of 
ruling  over  men's  consciences,  and  of  subjecting  the 
faith  of  others  to  themselves,  is  certainly  compatible 
to  a  mere  natural  man,  nay,  to  the  devil  himself, 
who  is  as  lordly,  cruel,  and  imperious  as  any  other. 
The  reformed  churches,  on  the  other  hand,  are,  I 
fear,  generally  more  offended  at  the  Papists  for  their 
persecutions  of  them,  than  for  the  real  persecuting 
and  crucifying  Christ  afresh  by  their  sins;  and  so, 
consequently,  do  rather  write  and  fight  against  them, 
than  either  pity  or  pray  for  them.  I  hope  there  are 
as  many  well-spirited  Christians  in  England,  at  least 
proportionably,  as  in  any  church  upon  earth  ;  and 
yet  I  fear  there  are  far  more  that  could  wish  the 
Papists  out  of  this  world,  than  that  earnestly  desire 
that  they  may  be  fitted  for,  and  so  counted  worthy 
of,  a  better.  And  doth  this  spring  from  a  religious 
or  a  selfish  principle,  think  ye  ?  Doth  it  not  agree 
well  to  the  animal  life,  and  natural  self,  to  be  tender 
of  its  own  interest  and  concerns,  to  wish  well  to  its 
own  safety,  to  defend  itself  from  violence  ?  May  I 
not  allude  to  our  Saviour's  words,  and  say,  "  If  ye 
hate  them  that  hate  you,  how  can  that  be  accounted 
religious?  Do  not  even  the  publicans  the  same?" 
I  doubt  we  know  not  sufficiently  what  spirit  we  should 
be  of.  The  power  of  religion,  rightly  prevailing  in 
the  soul,  would  mould  us  into  another  kind  of  tem- 
per ;  it  would  teach  us  as  well  to  love,  and  pity,  and 
pray  for  Papists,  as  to  hate  Popery.  I  know  the 
prophecy,  indeed,  that  the  beast  and  the  false  pro- 
phet shall  be  cast  alive  into  the  lake  burning  with 
brimstone,  and  the  remnant  shall  be  slain  with  the 
sword  of  him  that  sat  upon  the  horse:  but,  in  as  much 


68 

as  that  sword  is  said  to  proceed  ''out  of  his  mouth," 
I  would  gladly  interpret  it  of  the  "  word  of  God," 
which  kills  men  unto  salvation.  However,  let  the 
interpretation  of  that  text,  and  others  of  the  like  im- 
portance, be  what  it  will,  I  reckon  it  very  unsafe  to 
turn  all  the  prophecies  and  threatenings  of  God  into 
prayers,  lest  haply  we  should  be  found  to  contribute 
to  the  damning  of  men^s  souls.  Yea,  when  all  is  said 
concerning  the  reprobating  decrees  of  God,  and  his 
essential,  inflexible,  punitive  justice,  and  all  those 
text.s  that  seem  to  speak  of  God's  revenging  himself 
with  delight,  are  interpreted  to  the  utmost  harshness 
of  meaning  that  the  cruel  wit  of  man  can  invent;  yet 
it  remains  a  sealed,  and  to  me  a  sweet  truth,  "  I 
have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that  dieth,  saith 
the  Lord  God  :"  and  again,  "  As  I  live,  saith  the 
Lord  God,  I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the 
wicked."  Wherefore,  to  waive  all  those  dreadful 
glosses,  (that  do  rather  describe  the  bitter  and  re- 
vengeful ingenuity  of  man  that  makes  them,  than 
interpret  the  pure  and  perfect  nature  of  God,  upon 
whom  they  are  made,)  let  us  attend  to  that  beautiful 
character  that  is  every  where  given  of  religion,  which 
is  our  highest  concern,  in  the  person  of  Moses,  of 
Paul,  and  of  Christ  Jesus  himself,  the  Author  and 
Exemplar  of  it;  who,  by  his  incarnation,  life,  and 
death,  abundantly  demonstrated  the  infinite  benig- 
nity, and  compassionate  ardours  of  his  soul  towards 
us,  when  we  were  worse  than  Papists,  as  being  out 
of  a  possibility  of  salvation  without  him:  and  "  let 
that  mind  be  in  us,  which  was  in  him  also."  Though 
it  be  not  directly  our  Saviour's  meaning  in  my  text, 
yet  1  believe  it  may  be  deduced,  that  this  pure  and 


69 

divine  principle,  religion,  springs  up  into  everlasting 
life,  not  only  our  own,  but  other  men's  also.  But 
however  religion  is  described,  sure  I  am,  it  is  most 
unnatural  to  the  religious  soul,  that  is  regenerated 
into  the  pure  spirit  of  piety,  pity,  and  universal  cha- 
rity, to  be  of  a  cruel,  fierce,  revengeful,  damning 
disposition.  And  therefore,  whatever  are  the  rant- 
ing and  wrathful  strains  of  some  men's  devotions,  I 
beseech  the  reader  to  endeavour  with  me,  that  cha- 
rity towards  men's  souls  may  go  along  in  conjunction 
with  zeal  and  piety  towards  God,  when  we  present 
ourselves  before  the  throne  of  his  grace  :  and  so,  I 
am  confident,  it  will,  if  we  pray  sincerely  to  this 
purpose,  namely,  "  That  God  would  cause  the  wick- 
edness of  the  wicked  to  come  to  an  end,  that  he 
would  consume  the  Antichrist,  but  convert  Papists, 
and  make  the  wonderers  after  the  beast  to  become 
followers  of  the  Lamb  !"  I  doubt  there  are  many 
that  think  they  can  never  be  too  liberal  in  wishing 
ill  to  the  Papists,  nay,  they  count  it  a  notable  argu- 
ment of  a  good  Protestant,  I  had  almost  said,  an 
evidence  of  grace,  to  be  very  raging  and  invective 
against  them.  Alas  !  how  miserably  do  we  bewray 
ourselves  in  so  doing,  to  be  nothing  less  than  what 
we  pretend  to  by  doing  it  !  For  are  not  we  our- 
selves herein  Antichristian,  whilst  we  complain  of 
their  cruelties,  our  own  souls,  in  the  very  act,  boil- 
ing over  with  revengeful  and  burning  affections?  If 
we  do  indeed  abhor  their  cruelty,  because  it  is  con- 
trary to  the  holy  precepts  of  the  gospel,  and  the  true 
kingdom  of  Christ,  we  ought  to  be  as  jealous,  at  the 
same  time,  lest  any  thing  like  unto  it  should  be  found 
in  ourselves;  otherwise,  are  we  not  carnal  ?    For  mere 


70 

nature,  as  I  have  often  said,  will  abhor  any  thing 
that  is  contrary  to  itself,  and  will  not  willingly  suffer 
its  delicate  interest  to  be  touched.  The  Apostle 
tells  us,  "  that  no  man,  speaking  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  calleth  Christ  accursed;"  but  I  doubt  it  is 
common  to  curse  Antichrist,  and  yet  by  a  spirit  that 
is  Antichristian,  I  mean  carnal,  selfish,  cruel,  and 
uncharitable.  For  there  is  a  spiritual  Antichrist, 
or,  if  you  will,  in  the  Apostle's  phrase,  a  "  spirit  of 
Antichrist,"  as  well  as  a  political  Antichrist;  and  I 
doubt  the  former  prevails  most  in  the  world,  though 
it  be  the  least  discerned  and  abjured.  Men  do  by  An- 
tichrist as  they  do  by  the  devil — defy  him  in  words, 
but  entertain  him  in  their  hearts;  run  away  from  the 
appearance  of  him,  and,  in  the  mean  time,  can  be 
well  enough  content  to  be  all  that,  in  very  deed, 
which  the  devil  and  Antichrist  is.  All  this  evidently 
appears  to  be  for  want  of  the  true  power  and  spirit 
of  religion,  which  I  commend  for  so  great  a  healer, 
even,  as  the  Greek  signifies,  of  our  distempers. 

Perhaps  no  Papist  will  find  in  his  heart  to  read 
this  epistle  written  by  a  heretic;  yet  possibly,  too, 
some  one  or  other  may :  therefore  I  will  adventure 
briefly  to  prescribe  this  same  medicinal  divinity  to 
them  also;  though  perhaps  I  might  be  excused  upon 
another  account,  all  that  which  I  have  hitherto  said 
to  distempered  Protestants  being  rightly  enough, 
mutatis  mutandis^  applicable  to  them.  But  more- 
over, whereas  they  value  their  church,  and  the  truth 
and  rightness  of  it,  by  its  universality  and  prosperity ; 
the  power  of  religion  would  make  men  to  value  them- 
selves, and  their  adherents,  only  by  the  divine  im- 
pressions of  piety  and  purity,  and  to  account  such 


71 

only  worthy  of  the  glorious  title  of  apostolical  and 
children  of  God,  who  are  sincere  followers  of  the  apos- 
tles, wherein  they  were  followers  of  Christ,  namely, 
in  true  holiness  and  righteousness.  Are  they  indus- 
trious and  zealous  for  the  proselyting  of  the  world, 
and  spreading  of  their  interest  far  and  near  ?  And 
are  not  all  wicked  men,  yea,  and  the  devil  himself 
so  too  ?  The  fairest  and  most  flourishing  state  of 
the  church  is  nothing  to  God,  and  so,  consequently, 
not  to  a  godly  soul,  in  comparison  of  those  excel- 
lent divine  beauties,  wherewith  religion  adorneth  the 
world.  But  whereas  the  greatest  complaint,  and 
the  most  dreadful  charge,  which  the  Protestants 
bring  against  the  Papists,  is  their  fierceness  and 
most  unchristian  cruelty,  exercised  against  all  whom 
they  can  but  make  a  shift  to  esteem  heretics ;  and 
they,  on  the  other  hand,  allege,  that  the  interest  of 
religion,  and  the  catholic  faith,  doth  require  it,  and 
that  they  do  not  so  properly  murder  men,  as  sacri- 
fice them  to  the  honour  of  God  :  it  -will  be  proper 
to  spend  a  little  time,  at  least,  to  clear  religion  of 
this  blame;  that  as  wisdom  is,  at  all  times,  justified 
of  her  children,  so  she  may  be  sometimes  justified 
by  them,  especially  when  the  aspersions  are  so  mon- 
strously foul.  And  indeed  she  hath  sufficiently  in- 
structed us  how  to  justify  her  from  all  such  imputa- 
tions ;  having  so  fairly  portrayed  herself  by  the  pen 
of  the  Apostle  James,  both  negatively  and  affirma- 
tively. She  is  void  of  "  strife,  envyings,  bitterness, 
and  every  evil  work ;"  but  she  is  "  pure,  peaceable, 
gentle,  easy  to  be  entreated,  full  of  mercy  and  good 
fruits,  without  partiality,  and  without  hypocrisy." 
This  is  the  proper  description  of  heavenly  wisdom, 


7^  ' 

or  pure  religion :  and  O  that  all  Christians  would 
estircate  themselves  to  be  wise  according  to  their 
conformity  thereunto  !  Then  I  would  easily  be- 
lieve, that  none  would  be  Papists  in  practice,  what- 
ever they  might  be  in  opinion.  What,  Sirs,  is  the 
God  of  the  Christians  become  like  unto  a  devil,  that 
he  should  delight  in  cruelty,  and  drink  .the  blood  of 
men  ?  Is  the  butchering  of  reasonable  creatures 
that  reasonable  service  which  he  requires?  Is  the 
living  sacrifice  of  your  own  bodies  turned  into  the 
dead  sacrifice  of  other  men's  ?  It  was  wont  to  be 
said,  "  What  communion  hath  Christ  with  Belial?" 
And  is  the  Prince  of  Peace  now  become  very  Satan, 
the  author  of  enmity,  malignity,  confusion,  and  every 
€vil  work  ?  Did  he  shed  his  blood  for  his  enemies, 
to  teach  us  that  goodly  lesson  of  shedding  the  blood 
of  others  ?  Did  he  come  "  to  seek  and  to  save  that 
which  was  lost;"  to  set  us  an  example,  that  we  might 
seek  to  destroy,  and  that  only  to  repair  our  own 
losses?  Be  it  so,  that  the  Protestant  churches  have 
apostatized  from  you  :  this,  I  hope,  is  not  a  greater 
crime  than  the  apostacy  of  mankind  from  God,  which 
yet  lie  expiated,  not  with  the  blood  of  the  apostates, 
but  with  his  own.  Religion  was  formerly  a  princi- 
ple springing  up  into  eternal  life  :  how  is  the  world 
changed,  that  it  should  now  be  a  principle  springing 
up  into  massacres  and  temporal  death  !  or  is  religion 
now  become  a  principle  springing  up  into  secular 
power,  worldly  dominion,  temporal  greatness,  and 
all  manner  of  fleshly  accommodations  ?  This  was 
of  old  the  description  of  sensuality,  and  a  heathenish 
genius,  "  For  after  all  these  things  do  the  Gentiles 
jseek."      Are  there  so  many  mighty  engines  in  the 


73 

gospel  to  engage  the  hearts  of  men  to  believe,  pro- 
fess, and  obey  it,  and  raust  they  all  now  give  place 
to  fire  and  sword  ?  Are  these  the  only  gospel  rae- 
thods  of  winning  men  to  the  catholic  faith?  What! 
are  we  wiser  than  Christ,  or  more  zealous  than  he 
himself  was  ?  Did  he  forbid  fire  from  heaven,  and 
will  you  fetch  it  even  from  hell  to  consume  dissen- 
ters ?  Did  he  sheath  his  sword  that  was  drawn  in 
his  own  defence,  and  set  a  dreadful  seal  upon  it  too, 
''  All  they  that  take  the  sword  shall  perish  with  the 
sword  :"  and  will  you  adventure  to  draw  it  in  a  way 
of  revenge  and  persecution,  and  count  it  meritorious 
too,  as  if  you  should  therefore  never  perish  because 
you  take  it  ?  Is  it  not  written  in  your  Bibles,  as 
well  as  ours,  that  "no  murderer  shall  enter  into  the 
kingdom  of  God  ?"  And  do  you  think  by  murders 
to  propagate  this  kingdom  upon  earth,  and  have  a 
more  abundant  entrance  into  it  yourselves  hereafter? 
Can  hell  dwell  with  heaven  ?  Shall  bloody  cruelty 
ever  come  to  lodge  in  the  bosom,  or  lie  down  in  the 
sacred  arms  of  eternal  love?  Be  not  deceived.  Sirs, 
with  a  false  heaven;  but  take  this  for  an  indubitable 
and  self-evidencing  aphorism  of  truth.  No  soul  of 
man  hath  any  more  of  heaven,  no  nor  ever  shall 
have,  than  he  hath  of  God,  and  of  his  pure,  placable, 
patient,  benign,  and  gracious  nature.  And  this  is 
that  everlasting  life  which  a  religious  principle  is 
ahvays  springing  up  into ;  so  that  it  hereby  appears 
plainly,  that  religion,  in  the  power  of  it,  would  heal 
these  feverish  distempers  also,  and  so  restore  a  most 
excellent  constitution,  both  personal  and  political. 
It  may  possibly  seem  that  I  have  toiled  too  much 

D  38 


74 

in  these  discoveries;  and  haply  my  pains  may  prove 
ungrateful  to  many.  But  may  it  please  Almighty 
God  that  they  may  prove  vindicative  of  religion,  re- 
storative of  the  sickly  and  lapsed  ecclesiastical  or 
political  state,  yea,  or  medicinal  and  profitable  to  any 
single  soul  of  man,  I  shall  venture  to  estimate  it 
against  an  age  of  pains.  And  if  it  should  prove 
that  by  all  this  toil  I  have  "caught  nothing,"  as  the 
weary  disciples  complained  of  old,  nevertheless  being 
well  assured,  that  I  have  a  word  of  God  for  my  en- 
couragement, 1  will  let  down  the  net  once  again, 
and  so  finish  these  epistolary  pains  with  an  earnest 
hortatory  address  to  all  that  shall  peruse  them. 

Let  nothing  satisfy  your  souls,  Christians,  let 
nothing  administer  rest  or  settlement  to  your  hearts, 
that  is  common  to  the  natural  man,  or  compatible  to 
the  mere  animal  life.  There  are  a  great  many  high 
strains  of  zeal  and  seeming  devotion,  by  which  many 
men  judge  themselves  to  be  some  great  ones,  and 
concerning  which  they  are  ready  to  say,  These  things 
are  the  great  power  of  God;  which,  if  they  be  well 
examined  into,  will  be  found  to  grow  upon  no  better 
root  than  natural  self,  and  to  spring  from  no  higher 
principle  than  this  animal  life.  It  is  impossible  for 
me  to  give  an  exact  catalogue  of  all  these:  many  of 
them  I  have  occasionally  recorded  in  the  latter  end 
of  the  ensuing  treatise;  to  which  yet  many  more 
mi"ht  be  added,  if  I  had  a  fair  opportunity.  But, 
at  present,  let  me  in  general  commend  to  you  this 
description  made  by  our  Saviour  of  true  religion,  as 
the  rule  whereby  I  do  earnestly  entreat  you  faith- 
fully to  examine  yourselves,  your  actions,  affections, 


75 

zeal,  confidence,  professions,  performances.  Let  me 
speak  freely,  all  pomps  of  worship,  all  speculative 
knowledge,  though  ever  so  orthodox,  is  as  dear  to 
the  animal  life  as  the  divine:  and  all  external  models 
of  devotion,  submiss  confessions,  devout  hymns, 
pathetical  prayers,  raptures  of  joy,  much  zeal  to  re- 
form indecencies  in  worship  or  superstitions,  a  fierce 
raging  against  the  political  Antichrist,  do  as  well 
agree  to  a  natural  man  as  a  spiritual,  and  may  be 
as  fairly  acted  over,  by  a  mere  selfish  carnal  principle, 
as  by  that  which  is  truly  divine.  When  Diogenes 
trampled  upon  Plato's  stately  bed,  saying,  "  I 
trample  on  Plato's  pride,"  it  was  answered  him  very 
sharply,  "  He  was  prouder  in  treading  upon  it,  than 
Plato  was  in  lying  upon  it."  I  doubt  it  may  be 
applied  too  truly  to  a  great  deal  of  that  cynical  and 
scornful  zeal,  that  is  in  the  world  at  this  day;  men 
declaim  against  the  pride,  and  pomp,  and  grandeur 
of  Antichristian  prelates,  with  a  pride  no  whit  inferior 
to  theirs  whom  they  thus  decry.  However,  it  is 
plain,  that  those  things  which  are  imitable  by  a 
sensual  heart,  and  indeed  performable  by  the  mere 
magic  of  an  exalted  fancy,  are  not  to  be  rested  in 
by  a  sincere  Christian.  Read  over,  therefore,  I  be- 
seech you,  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit,  recorded  by  the 
Apostle  Paul,  and  the  Apostle  Peter,  and  estimate 
yourselves  by  them.  These  things  are  utterly  in- 
compatible to  the  mere  animal  man:  all  the  natural 
men  and  devils  in  the  world  cannot  be  humble,  meek, 
self-denying,  patient,  charitable,  lovers  of  God  more 
than  of  themselves,  or  of  their  enemies  as  themselves. 
Would  you  judge  rightly   of  the  goodness  of  any 

D  2 


70 

opinion  ?  then  value  it  by  the  tendency  that  is  in  it 
to  advance  the  life  of  God:  particularly  judge  of  the 
Millenarian  opinion,  which  begins  to  be  so  much 
hugged  in  the  world:  concerning  which  I  will  only 
say  thus  much  at  present,  that,  in  the  common  no- 
tion of  it,  as  it  promises  a  state  of  much  ease,  liberty, 
power,  prosperity,  and  freedom  from  all  persecutions 
and  oppressions,  it  is  as  grateful  to  the  fleshly  palate, 
and  will  be  as  gladly  embraced  by  the  mere  animal 
man,  as  by  the  greatest  saint  upon  earth.  And 
therefore,  supposing  it  to  be  true,  yet  I  cannot  but 
wonder  how  it  comes  to  administer  so  much  satisfac- 
tion, and  afford  such  a  marvellous  relish,  to  minds 
divinely  principled,  as  many  seem  to  taste  in  it.  By 
this  same  tendency,  to  advance  the  divine  life  in  your 
souls,  judge  also  of  all  your  enjoyments,  riches, 
honours,  liberties,  friends,  health,  children,  &c.  and 
value  them,  if  it  be  possible,  only  under  this  con- 
sideration. But,  to  hasten  to  an  end,  J  will  endea- 
vour to  set  on  this  general  exhortation  by  two  or 
three  weighty  considerations. — First,  it  is  utterly 
impossible  that  any  speculation,  opinion,  profession, 
enjoyment,  ornament,  performance,  or  any  other 
thing,  but  the  transformation  of  the  mind  into  the 
very  image  and  nature  of  God,  should  ever  be  able 
to  perfect  our  souls,  or  commend  us  unto  Godi 
They  cannot  perfect  our  souls,  as  being  most  of 
them  exterior,  and  all  of  them  inferior  to  it.  They 
cannot  commend  a  man  to  God,  who  loves  us,  and 
whom  we  so  far  know  and  love,  as  we  partake  of  his 
nature,  and  resemble  him :  this  is  the  love  of  God, 
this  is  the  worship  of  God,   and  this  is  really  the 


77 

souls  acquaintance  with  him,  and  nothing  hut  this. 
Secondly,  The  advancement  of"  the  divine  life  is  that 
which  God  mainly  designs  in  the  world.  I  need 
instance  but  in  two  things:  1.  The  sending  of  his 
own  Son  into  the  world  for  this  very  end  and  pur- 
pose, "  that  he  might  take  away  our  sins,"  says  the 
Apostle  John;  and  again,  "  that  he  might  destroy 
the  works  of  the  devil;"  and  again,  says  the  Apostle 
Paul,  "  That  he  might  redeem  us  from  all  iniquity, 
and  purify  unto  himself  a  peculiar  people  zealous  of 
good  works."  2.  It  appears  that  this  is  the  grand 
design  of  God  in  the  world,  in  as  much  as  he  doth 
not  deliver  his  faithful  servants  out  of  their  afflictions 
and  tribulations :  which  he  would  not  fail  to  do,  did 
he  not  intend  them  a  greater  good  thereby,  and 
design  to  lead  them  on,  and  raise  them,  up  to  a 
higher  life.  Now,  what  can  more  ennoble  these 
souls  of  ours,  than  to  live  upon  the  same  design  with 
God  himself? 

And  now,  reader,  I  commend  thee  to  the  blessing 
of  God,  in  the  perusal  of  this  small  tract,  which  I 
have  composed,  and  now  exposed,  under  a  sense  of 
that  common  obligation,  that  lies  upon  every  person 
to  be  active  in  his  sphere  for  the  interest  of  the 
name  and  honour  of  God,  and  to  render  his  life  as 
useful  as  he  may  :  more  particularly,  under  a  sense 
of  my  own  deficiency  in  several  accomplishments, 
whereby  others  are  better  fitted  to  serve  their  gen- 
eration :  and  especially  under  a  sense  of  the  peculiar 
engagement  that  lieth  upon  me,  to  dedicate  my  life 
entirely  to  his  service,  from  whom  I  have  so  lately, 
and  that  so  signally,  received  the  same  afresh ;  in 


78 

imitation  of  whom,  I  hope  thou  wilt  be  indulgent 
towards  my  infirmities.  To  whom  I  heartily  com- 
mend thee,  and  to  the  precious  influences  of  his 
eternal  Spirit,  and  rest, 

Thy  Servant  in  his  work, 

And  for  his  sake, 

SAMUEL  SHAW. 


.>>^^^''^''-^'^^-> 


John  iv.  14. 

"  But  whosoever  drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  giv'e  him 
shall  never  thirst;  but  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  be 
in  him  a  well  of  water  springing  up  into  everlasting  lite." 


CHAPTER  I. 


The  original  of  true  religion.  All  souls  the  offspring  of 
God ;  but  godly  souls  yet  more  especially.  God  the 
author  of  religion  from  without;  God  the  author  of  it 
from  within^  enlightening  the  faculty.  Religion  some- 
thing of  God  in  the  soul.  A  discovery  of  religious  men 
by  the  ciffinity  that  they  have  to  God.  God  alone  to  be 
acknowledged  in  all  holy  accomplishments. 

This  chapter  contains  an  excellent,  profitable,  fami- 
liar discourse  of  the  blessed  Saviour  of  the  world, 
into  whose  lips  grace  was  poured,  and  he  ceased  not 
to  pour  it  out  again.  That  which  is  said  of  the 
wise,  Prov.  xv.  7.  is  fully  verified  of  Wisdom  itself, 
his  lips  dispersed  knowledge.  A  poor  woman  of 
Samaria  comes  to  draw  water,  and  our  Saviour  takes 
occasion,  from  the  water,  to  instruct  her  in  the  great 
and  excellent  doctrines  of  the  kingdom  of  heaven. 
O  the  admirable  zeal  for  God,  and  compassion  for 
souls,   which  dwelt  in  that  divine  breast!  and  O  the 


80 

wonderful,  unsearchable  counsels  of  an  all-wise  God  ! 
He  ordains  Saul's  seeking  of  asses  to  be  the  means 
of  his  finding  a  kingdom  upon  earth  ;  and  this  poor 
woman's  seeking  of  water,  to  be  an  occasion  of  her 
finding  the  way  to  the  kingdom  of  heaven.  She 
comes  to  the  well  of  Jacob,  and,  behold  she  meets  with 
the  God  of  Jacob  there.  The  occasion,  instruction, 
and  issue  of  this  discourse,  would  each  afford  many- 
good  and  profitable  observations :  but  I  think  none 
more  than  this  verse  that  I  have  pitched  upon;  in 
which  the  mystery  of  gospel-grace  is  admirably  un- 
folded, and  true  Christian  religion  is  excellently  de- 
scribed. For  so  I  understand  our  Saviour,  not  as 
speaking  of  faith,  or  knowledge,  or  any  other  parti- 
cular grace,  but  of  grace  in  general,  of  the  Holy 
Spirit  of  God;  that  is,  the  gifts  and  graces  of  it,  of 
true  godliness;  or,  if  you  will,  of  the  Christian  reli- 
gion ;  for  that  word  I  shall  choose  to  retain  through- 
out my  discourse,  as  being  most  intelligible  and  com- 
prehensive. 

In  which  words  we  find  the  true  Christian  reli- 
gion unfolded  in  the  original,  nature,  properties, 
consequent,  and  end  of  it.  The  original  of  it  is 
found  in  those  words,  "  I  shall  give  him ;"  the  na- 
ture of  it  is  described  by  a  "  well  of  water;"  the 
properties  of  it  will  be  found  in  the  phrase  of 
"  springing  up;"  the  consequent  of  it,  that  the  man 
that  is  endowed  with  it  shall  "  never  thirst;"  the 
end  or  perfection  of  it,  is  "  everlasting  life."  Of 
all  these,  by  God's  assistance,  in  this  order. 

First,  1  begin  at  the  original  of  it,  as  it  seems 
meet  I  should;  for  indeed  it  is  first  found  in  the 
words, — "  The  water  that  I  shall  give  him."     And 


81 

here  the  proposition  that  I  shall  proceed  upon  must 
be,  "  That  the  true  Christian  religion  is  of  a  divine 
original."      All   souls   are    indeed   the   offspring   of 
God.      Those  noble  faculties  of  understanding,  and 
a  will  free  from  constraint,    do  more   resemble  the 
nature  of  God  than  all  the  world  besides.     There  is 
more  of  the  glory,  beauty,  and  brightness  of  God  in 
a  soul,  than  there  is  in  the  sun  itself.     The  Apostle 
allows  it  as  a  proper  speech  spoken  in  common  of  all 
men,   "  For  we  are  also  his  offspring."      God  hath 
impressed  more  lively  prints  of  himself,  and  his  di- 
vine essence  upon  a  rational  soul,  than  he  hath  upon 
the  whole  creation.      So  that  the  soul  of  man,   even 
as  to  its  constitution,  doth  declare  and  discover  more, 
of  the  nature  of  God,   than  all  the  other  things  that 
he  hath  made,   whereof  the   Apostle  speaks,   Rom. 
i.  20.      He   that  rightly  converseth   with  his   own 
soul,    will  get   more   acquaintance   with   God,    than 
they  that  gaze   continually  upon  the  material  hea- 
vens, or  traverse  the  dark  and  utmost  corners  of  the 
earth,  or  go  down  into  the  sea  in  ships ;  the  serious 
consideration  of  the  little   world  will   teach  more  of 
him  than  the  great  one  could  do.      So  that  I  doubt 
not  to  take  the  Apostle's  words  concerning  the  word 
of   God,   and  apply  them  to  the   nature   of  God  : 
"   Say   not   in    thy    heart.    Who   shall   ascend   into 
heaven,"  to  bring  a  discovery  of  God  from  thence? 
Or,   "  who  shall-  descend  into  the  deep,"  to  fetch  it 
up  from   thence?      The  nature  and  essence  of  God 
is  nigh  thee,  even  in  thine  own  soul,  excellently  dis- 
played  in   the  constitution   and  frame,   powers  and 
faculties  thereof.      God  hath  not  made  any  creature 
so  capable  of  receiving  and  reflecting  his  image  and 

D  3 


82 

glory,  as  angels  and  men :  which  hath  made  me 
often  to  say,  "  That  the  vilest  soul  of  man  is  much 
more  beautiful  and  honourable  than  the  most  ex- 
cellent body,  than  the  very  body  of  the  sun  at  noon- 
day." And,  by  the  way,  this  may  render  sin  odious 
and  loathsome;  because  it  hath  defiled  the  fairest 
piece  of  God's  workmanship  in  the  world,  and  hath 
defaced  the  clearest  copy  which  he  had  drawn  of 
himself  in  the  whole  creation. 

But  thoui^h  all  rational  souls  be  the  children  of 
God,  yet  all  of  them  do  not  imitate  their  Father ; 
though  their  constitution  do  express  much  of  the 
essence  of  God,  yet  their  disposition  doth  express 
the  image  of  the  devil.  But  godly  souls,  who  are 
followers  of  God,  are  indeed  his  dear  children. 
Holy  souls,  who  are  endowed  with  a  divine  and 
God-like  disposition,  and  do  work  the  works  of  God, 
these  are  most  truly  and  properly  his  offspring. 
Matt.  v.  44,  45.  And,  in  this  respect,  God's  chil- 
dren are  his  "  workmanship  created  unto  good 
works."  Religion  is  of  a  divine  original.  God  is 
the  Author  and  Father  of  it,  both  from  without,  and 
from  within. 

1.  God  is  the  author  of  it  from  without.  When 
man  had  fallen  from  God  by  sin,  and  so  had  lost 
his  way,  and  was  become  both  unwilling  and  unable 
to  return,  God  was  pleased  to  set  up  that  glorious 
light,  his  own  Son,  "  the  Sun  of  righteousness,"  in 
the  world,  that  he  might  guide  their  feet  into  the 
way  of  peace,  who  is  therefore  called,  *'  A  light  to 
lighten  the  Gentiles,"  and  is  compared  to  a  candle, 
set  upon  a  candlestick.  God,  of  his  infinite  free 
grace,  and  overflowing  goodness,  provided  a  Mediator, 


83 

in  and  by  whom  these  apostate  souls  might,  be  recon- 
ciled, and  re-united  to  himself.  "  And  to  as  many 
as  receive  him,  to  them  he  giveth  power  to  become 
the  sons  of  God." 

Yet  further,  it  pleased  God,  in  his  infinite  wis- 
dom and  mercy,  to  chalk  out  the  way  of  life  and 
peace  in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  and  therein  to  unlock 
the  secrets  of  salvation  to  succeeding  generations. 
Herein  he  hath  plainly  laid  down  the  terras  of  the 
covenant  of  peace,  which  was  made  in  the  Mediator, 
and  given  precepts  and  promises  for  the  direction 
and  encouragement  of  as  many  as  will  inquire  into 
them.  These  are  the  sacred  oracles  which  give 
clear  and  certain  answers  to  all  that  do  consult  them 
about  their  future  state,  Rom.  iii.  2.  Christ  Jesus 
opened  the  way  into  the  holiest  of  all,  and  the  Scrip- 
tures come  after,  and  point  it  out  to  us:  he  pur- 
chased life  and  immortality,  and  these  bring  it  to 
light. 

And  yet  further,  that  these  might  not  be  mis- 
taken, or  perverted  to  men's  destruction,  which  were 
ordained  for  their  salvation,  which  sometimes  doth 
come  to  pass,  God  hath  been  pleased  to  commit 
these  records  into  the  hands  of  his  church,  and 
therein  to  his  ministers,  whom  he  hath  appointed, 
called,  qualified,  instructed,  for  the  opening,  ex- 
plaining, interpreting,  and  applying  of  them ;  so 
that  they  are  called  "  scribes  instructed  unto  the 
kingdom  of  God,  and  stewards  of  the  mysteries, 
stewards  over  the  household  of  God,  to  give  unto 
every  one  his  portion."  These  Apostles,  prophets, 
evangelists,  pastors,  teachers,  God  hath  given  for 
the  perfecting  of  the  saints,  for  the  edifying  of  the 
body  of  Christ. 


84 

These  things  hath  God  done  for  us,  from  with- 
out us;  he  hath  set  up  a  light,  clialked  out  our  way, 
and  appointed  us  guides.  To  which  I  might  add 
the  many  enticements  and  motives  which  we  call 
mercies  or  comforts  of  this  life;  and  the  many  af- 
frightments  of  judgments  and  afflictions  which  God 
hath  added  to  the  promises  and  tiireatenings  of  his 
word,  to  bring  us  into  the  way  of  life.  But  all 
these  are  too  little,  too  weak  of  themselves,  to  bring 
back  a  straggling  soul,  or  to  produce  a  living  prin- 
ciple of  true  religion  in  it.      Therefore, 

2.  God  is  the  author  of  reHgion  from  within. 
He  doth  not  only  reveal  himself  and  his  Son  to  the 
soul,  but  in  it ;  he  doth  not  only  make  discoveries 
to  it,  but  lively  impressions  upon  it ;  he  doth  not 
only  appoint,  and  point  out  the  way  of  life,  but 
breathes  in  the  breath  of  life.  He  hath  not  only 
provided  a  Saviour,  a  Redeemer;  but  he  also  draws 
the  soul  unto  him.  He  hath  not  only  appointed 
pastors  and  teachers,  but  he  himself  impregnates 
their  word,  and  clothes  their  doctrine  with  his  own 
power,  using  their  ministry  as  an  instrument  whereby 
to  teach;-  so  that  the  children  of  God  are  said  to  be 
"  all  taught  of  God."  Ministers  can  only  discover, 
and,  as  it  were,  enlighten  the  object;  but  God  en- 
lightens the  faculty,  he  gives  the  seeing  eye,  and 
does  actually  enable  it  to  discern.  Therefore,  the 
work  of  converting  a  soul  is  still  ascribed  to  God  in 
Scripture;  he  begets  us  again,  1  Pet.  i.  3.  he  draws 
the  soul,  before  it  can  run  after  him.  Cant.  i.  4<. 
Christ  apprehends  the  soul,  lays  powerful  hold  of  it, 
Phil.  iii.  12.  God  gives  a  heart  of  flesh,  a  new  heart; 
be  causes  men  to  walk  in  his  statutes,   Ezok.  xxxvi. 


85 

26,  27.  Fie  puts  his  law  into  thoir  inward  parts,  and 
writes  it  in  their  hearts,  Jer.  xxxi.  33.  To  which  I 
might  add  many  more  quotations  of  the  same  import. 

But  yet,  methinksj  we  are  not  come  to  a  perfect 
discovery  of  religion's  being  the  offspring  of  God  in 
the  minds  of  men'.  For  it  is  God  who  enhghteneth 
the  faculty  as  to  the  learning  of  all  other  things 
also;  he  teacheth  the  grammar  and  the  rhetoric,  as 
well  as  the  divinity;  he  instructeth  even  the  hus- 
bandman to  discretion  in  his  affairs  of  husbandry, 
and  teaches  him  to  plough,  and  sow,  and  thrash,  &c. 
Not  only  the  gift  of  divine  knowledge,  but  indeed 
"  every  good  gift  cometh  from  the  Father  of  lights." 
God  doth  from  within  give  that  capacity,  illumina- 
tion of  the  faculty,  ingenuity,  whereby  we  compre- 
hend the  mysteries  of  nature,  as  well  as  of  grace. 

Therefore,  we  may  conceive  of  the  original  of  re- 
ligion in  a  more  inward  and  spiritual  manner  still. 
It  is  not  so  much  given  of  God,  as  itself  is  some- 
thing of  God  in  the  soul;  as  the  soul  is  not  so  pro- 
perly said  to  give,  as  to  be  the  life  of  man.  As  the 
conjunction  of  the  soul  with  the  body  is  the  life  of 
the  body;  so  verily  the  life  of  the  soul  stands  in  its 
conjunction  with  God  by  a  spiritual  union  of  will  and 
affections.  God  doth  not  enlighten  men's  minds  as 
the  sun  enlightens  the  world,  by  shining  unto  them, 
and  round  about  them,  but  by  shining  into  them; 
by  enlightening  the  faculty,  as  I  said  before;  yea, 
which  seems  to  be  somewhat  more,  by  "  shining  in 
their  hearts,"  as  the  Apostle  expresseth  it.  He  sets 
up  a  candle,  which  is  his  own  light  within  the  soul; 
so  that  the  soul  sees  God  in  his  own  light,  and 
loves  him  with  the  love  that  he  hath  shed  abroad  in 


86 

it :  and  religion  is  no  other  than  a  reflection  of  that 
divine  image,  life,  and  light,  and  love,  which  from 
God  are  stamped  and  imprinted  upon  the  souls  of 
true  Christians.  God  is  said  to  enlighten  the  soul, 
but  it  is  not  as  the  sun  enlightens,  you  see;  so  he 
draws  the  soul  too,  but  not  from  without  only,  as  one 
draweth  another  with  a  cord,  as  Jupiter  in  Homer 
draws  men  up  to  heaven  by  a  chain,  and  Mahomet 
his  disciples  by  a  lock  of  hair;  but  he  draws  the 
soul,  as  the  sun  draws  up  earthly  vapours,  by  infus- 
ing its  virtue  and  power  into  them  ;  or,  as  the  load- 
stone draws  the  iron,  by  the  powerful  insinuations  of 
his  grace.  God  doth  not  so  much  communicate  him- 
self to  the  soul  by  way  of  discovery,  as  by  way  of 
impression,  as  I  said  before  ;  and  indeed,  not  so 
much  by  impression  neither,  as  by  a  mystical  and 
wonderful  way  of  implantation.  Religion  is  not  so 
much  something  from  God,  as  something  of  God 
in  the  minds  of  good  men;  for  so  the  Scripture  al- 
lows us  to  speak  :  it  is  therefore  called  his  image. 
Col.  iii.  10.  and  good  men  are  said  to  "  live  accor- 
ding to  God  in  the  spirit:"  but,  as  if  that  were  not 
high  enough,  it  is  not  only  called  his  image,  but 
even  a  participation  of  his  divine  nature,  2  Pet.  i.  4. 
something  of  Christ  in  the  soul,  an  "infant  Christ," 
as  one  calls  it,  alluding  to  the  Apostle,  where  the  sav- 
ing knowledge  of  Christ  is  called  Christ  himself, — 
"  until  Christ  be  formed  in  you."  True  religion  is, 
as  it  were,  God  dwelling  in  the  soul,  and  Christ 
dwelling  in  the  soul,  as  the  Apostles  St.  John  and 
St.  Paul  do  express  it;  yea,  God  himself  is  pleased 
thus  to  express  his  relation  to  the  godly  soul:  "  I 
dwell  in  the  high  and  holy  place,  with  hira  also  that 


87 

is  of  an  humble  spirit ;"  and  again,  "  As  God  hath 
said,  I  will  dwell  in  them,  and  walk  in  them."  Pure 
religion  is  a  beam  of  the  Father  of  lights ;  it  is  a 
drop  of  that  eternal  fountain  of  goodness  and  holi- 
ness ;  the  breath  of  the  power  of  God ;  a  pure  influ- 
ence flowing  from  the  glory  of  the  Almighty  ;  the 
brightness  of  the  everlasting  light;  the  unspotted 
mirror  of  the  power  of  God,  and  the  image  of  his 
goodness,  more  beautiful  than  the  sun,  and  above 
all  the  orders  of  stars;  being  compared  with  the 
light,  she  is  found  before  it,  as  the  author  of  the 
book  of  Wisdom  speaks,  chap.  vii.  What  is  spoken 
of  the  eternal  Son  of  God,  Heb.  i.  3.  may,  in  a  sense, 
be  truly  affirmed  of  religion  in  the  abstract, — that  it 
is  the  efFulgency,  or  beaming  forth  of  divine  glory; 
for  there  is  more  of  the  divine  glory  and  beauty 
shining  forth  in  one  godly  soul,  than  in  all  things  in 
the  world  beside :  the  glorious  light  of  the  sun  is 
but  a  dark  shadow  of  the  divine  light,  not  to  be 
compared  with  the  beauty  of  holiness.  An  immor- 
tal soul  doth  more  resemble  the  divine  nature  than 
any  other  created  being;  but  religion  in  the  soul  is 
a  thousand  times  more  divine  than  the  soul  itself. 
The  material  world  is  indeed  a  darker  represen- 
tation of  divine  wisdom,  power,  and  goodness;  it 
is,  as  it  were,  the  footsteps  of  God  :  the  immaterial 
world  of  angels  and  spirits  does  represent  him  more 
clearly,  and  are  the  face  of  God;  but  holiness  in  the 
soul  doth  most  nearly  resemble  him  of  all  created 
things ;  one  may  call  it  the  beauty  and  glory  of  his 
face.  Every  creature  partakes  of  God  indeed;  he 
had  no  copy  but  himself  and  his  own  essence  to  frame 
the  world  by ;  so  that  all  these  must  needs  carry 


88 

some  resemblance  of  their  Maker.     But  no  creature 
is  capable  of  such  communications  of  God,    as  a  ra- 
tional immortal  spirit  is;  and  the  highest  that  angel 
or  spirit,  or  any  created  nature,  can  be  made  capable 
of,  is  to  be  "  holy  as  God  is  holy."      So  then,  if  the 
poet  may  call  the  soul, — and  St.  Paul  allows  him  in 
it, — "  a  particle  of  the  divine  breath  ;"  sure  one  may 
rather  speak  at  that  rate  of  religion,   which  is  the 
highest  perfection  that  the  soul  can  attain  to,   either 
in  the  world  that  now  is,  or  that  which  is  to  come. 
One  soul,  any  one  soul  of  man,  is  worth  all  the  world 
beside  for  glory  and  dignity  ;  but  the  lowest  degree 
of  true  holiness,    pure   religion,    conformity  to    the 
divine  nature  and  will,  is  more  worth  than  a  world  of 
souls,  and  to  be  preferred  before  the  essence  of  an- 
gels.     I   have  often  admired  three  great  mysteries 
and  mercies:    God   revealed  in  the  flesh,   God  re- 
vealed in  the  word,  and  God  revealed   in  the  soul. 
This  last   is   the  mystery  of  godliness  which  I  am 
speaking  of,  but  cannot  fathom  ;    it  is  this  that  the 
Apostle  says  transcends  the  sight  of  our    eyes,   the 
capacity  of  our  ears,  and  all  the  faculties  of  our  souls 
too,  "  Eye  hath  not  seen,"  &c.     Christ  Jesus  formed 
in  the  soul  of  man,  incarnate  in  a  heart  of  flesh,  is 
as  great  a  miracle,  and  a  greater  mercy,  than  Christ 
formed  in  the  womb  of  a  virgin,  and  incarnate  in  a 
human  body.      There  was  once  much  glorying  con- 
cerning Christ  in  the  world,  the  hope  of  Israel;  but 
let  us   call   out  to  the  powers  of  eternity,  and  the 
ages  of  the  world  to  come,  to  help    us   to    celebrate 
and  magnify  "  Christ  in  us,  tiie  hope  of  glory ;"   or, 
if  you  will,  Christ  in  us  the  first  fruits  of  glory. 
1.  This   will   then   help   us  in  our  discoveries  of 


89 

that  precious  pearl.  Religion.  There  is  nothing  in 
the  world  that  men  do  generally  more  seek,  or  less 
find  :  no  nation  in  the  world  but  hath  courted  it  one 
way  or  other;  but,  alas,  how  few  that  have  obtained 
it  !  At  this  day  there  are  many  claims  laid  to  it, 
all  pretending  a  just  title:  the  men  of  Judah  cry, 
She  is  of  kin  to  us;  the  men  of  Israel  sav.  We  have 
ten  parts  in  this  queen,  and  we  have  more  right  in 
religion  than  ye :  according  as  they  contended  of 
old  about  king  David,  2  Sam.  xix.  They  say  of 
Christ,  as  it  was  foretold,  though  perhaps  not  in  the 
same  sense  as  was  foretold,  Lo,  here  he  is,  and  lo, 
there  he  is;  which  hath  made  many  say,  he  is  not  at  all: 
or,  if  I  may  go  on  in  the  same  allusion,  they  live  bv 
the  rule  that  there  follows,  they  will  not  go  forth  to 
seek  him  any  where.  Mighty  strivings,  yea,  and 
wars,  there  have  been  about  the  Prince  of  peace, 
whose  he  should  be  :  and  at  this  day  no  question 
more  debated,  nor  less  decided,  than.  Which  is  the 
religious  party  in  the  land  ?  Oh  would  to  God, 
men  would  dispute  this  controversy  with  works,  and 
not  with  words,  much  less  with  blows  !  Religion  is 
of  an  eminent  pedigree,  of  a  noble  descent;  you  may 
find  her  name  in  the  register  of  heaven,  and  look 
where  God  is,  there  is  she.  She  carries  her  name 
in  her  forehead ;  the  divine  disposition  that  she  is 
of,  the  divine  works  which  she  worketh,  which  no 
one  else  can  work,  the  same  do  bear  witness  which 
is  she.  I  am  ready  to  say  with  the  man  that  had 
been  blind,  John  ix.  3.  herein  is  a  marvellous  thing, 
that  ye  know  not  religion,  who  she  is,  and  yet  she 
is  the  mighty  power  of  God,  opening  the  eyes, 
changing   the   hearts,    and,  as  it  were,  deifying  the 


90 

souls  of  men.  Why  do  we  not  also  go  about  in- 
quiring which  of  those  many  stars  is  the  moon  in 
the  firmament  ?  If  ye  ask  of  the  religious  party,  I 
will  point  you  to  the  blessed  and  eternal  God,  and 
say,  As  he  is,  so  are  they,  in  their  capacity,  each 
one  resembling  the  children  of  a  king  ;  or,  I  will 
point  out  the  religious  Christian  by  the  same  token 
as  Christ  himself  was  marked  out  to  John  the  Bap- 
tist, "  Upon  whom  thou  shalt  see  the  Spirit  descend- 
ing and  remaining,  the  same  is  he."  If  ye  inquire 
about  the  children  of  God,  the  Apostle  shall  de- 
scribe them  for  you  :  The  followers  of  God  are  his 
dear  children.  That  which  is  most  nearly  allied  to 
the  nature  and  life  of  God,  that  call  religion,  under 
whatsoever  disguises  or  reproaches  it  may  go  in  the 
world.  Examine  the  world  by  no  lower  a  mark, 
than  that  character  that  is  given  of  David,  1  Sam. 
xiii.  14.  and  the  man  that  doth  appear  to  be 
after  God's  heart,  namely,  conformable  to  his 
image,  compliant  with  his  will,  and  studious  of 
his  glory,  pitch  upon  him  ;  for  that  is  that  man, 
under  what  name  soever  he  goes,  of  what  party 
or  faction  soever  he  is.  And  let  no  soul  exa- 
mine itself  by  any  lower  marks  than  this,  participa- 
tion of  the  divine  nature,  conformity  to  the  divine 
image.  Examine  what  alliance  your  soul  hath  to 
God  ;  "  whose  is  the  image  and  superscription." 
Religion  is  a  divine  accomplishment,  an  efflux  from 
God,  and  may,  by  its  affinity  to  heaven,  be  discerned 
from  a  brat  of  hell  and  darkness.  Therefore,  Chris- 
tians, if  you  will  make  a  judgment  of  your  state,  lay 
your  hearts  and  lives  to  the  rule,  the  eternal  good- 
ness,  the  uncreated   purity   and    holiness,  and  see 


91 

whether  you  resemble  that  copy  :  for  conformity  to 
the  image  and  will  of  God,  that  is  religion;  and  that 
God  will  own  for  his,  when  all  the  counterfeits  and 
shadows  of  it  will  fly  away,  and  disappear  for  ever. 
I  fear  it  may  be  imputed  as  a  great  piece  of  vanity 
and  idle  curiosity  to  many  counterfeit  speculative 
Christians,  that  they  are  very  inquisitive,  prying  into 
the  hidden  rolls  of  God's  decree,  the  secrets  of  pre- 
destination, to  find  out  the  causes  and  method  of 
their  vocation  and  salvation  ;  in  the  mean  time,  they 
are  not  solicitous  for,  nor  studious  of,  the  relation 
and  resemblance  that  every  religious  soul  bears  unto 
God  himself,  the  heaven  that  is  opened  within  the 
godly  soul  itself,  and  the  whole  mystery  of  salvation 
transacted  upon  the  heart  of  a  true  Christian. 
There  is  a  vanity  which  I  have  observed  in  many 
pretenders  to  nobility  and  learning,  when  men  seek 
to  demonstrate  the  one  by  their  coat  of  arms,  and 
the  records  of  their  family,  and  the  other  by  a  gown 
or  a  title,  or  their  names  standing  in  the  register  of 
the  university,  rather  than  by  the  accomplishments 
and  behaviours  of  gentlemen  or  scholars.  A  like 
vanity,  I  fear,  may  be  observed  in  many  pretenders 
to  religion  :  some  are  searching  God's  decretals,  to 
find  their  names  written  in  the  book  of  life,  when 
they  should  be  studying  to  find  God's  name  written 
upon  their  hearts,  "  holiness  to  the  Lord"  engraven 
upon  their  souls  ;  some  are  busy  examining  them- 
selves by  notes  and  marks  without  them;  when  they 
should  labour  to  find  the  marks  and  prints  of  God 
and  his  nature  upon  them  :  some  have  their  religion 
in  their  books  and  authors,  which  should  be  the  law 
of  God  written  in    the   tables  of  the  heart;  some 


92 

glory  in  the  bulk  of  their  duties,  and  in  the  multi- 
tude of  their  pompous  performances,  and  religious 
achievements,  crying,  with  Jehu,  "  Come,  see  here 
my  zeal  for  the  Lord ;"  whereas  it  were  much  more 
excellent,  if  one  could  see  their  likeness  to  the  Lord, 
and  the  characters  of  divine  beauty  and  hoHness 
drawn  upon  their  hearts  and  lives.  But  we,  if  we 
would  judge  rightly  of  our  religious  state,  must  view 
ourselves  in  God,  who  is  the  fountain  of  all  good- 
ness and  hohness,  and  the  rule  of  all  perfection. 
Value  yourselves  by  your  souls,  and  not  by  your 
bodies,  estates,  friends,  or  any  outward  accomplish- 
ments, as  most  men  do :  but  that  is  not  enough  ;  if 
men  rest  there,  they  make  an  idol  of  the  fairest  of 
God's  creatures,  even  their  own  souls;  therefore, 
value  your  souls  themselves  by  what  they  have  of 
God  in  them.  To  study  the  blessed  and  glorious 
God  in  his  word,  and  to  converse  with  him  in  his 
works,  is  indeed  an  excellent  and  honourable  em- 
ployment;  but  O  what  a  blessed  study  is  it  to  view 
him  in  the  communications  of  himself,  and  the  im- 
pressions of  his  grace  upon  our  own  souls  !  All  the 
thin  and  subtile  speculations  which  the  most  eminent 
philosophers  have  of  the  essence  and  nature  of  God, 
are  a  poor,  and  low,  and  beggarly  employment  and 
attainment,  in  comparison  of  those  blessed  visions  of 
God  which  a  godly  soul  hath  in  itself,  when  it  finds 
itself  partaker  of  a  divine  nature,  and  living  a  divine 
life.  O  labour  to  vievv  God  and  his  divine  perfec- 
tions in  your  own  souls,  in  those  copies  and  trans- 
cripts of  them  which  his  Holy  Spirit  draws  upon  the 
hearts  of  all  godly  men.  This  is  the  most  excellent: 
discovery  of  God  that  any  soul  is  capable   of:  it  is 


93 

better  and  more  desirable  than  that  famous  discovery 
that  was  made  to  Moses  in  the  cleft  of  the  rock. 
Nay,  I  should  much  rather  desire  to  see  the  real 
impression  of  a  godlike  nature  upon  my  own  soul,  to 
see  the  crucifying  of  my  own  pride  and  self-will,  the 
mortifying  of  the  mere  sensual  life,  and  a  divine  life 
springing  up  in  my  soul  instead  of  it ;  I  would  much 
rather  desire  to  see  my  soul  glorified  in  the  image 
and  beauty  of  God  put  upon  it,  which  is  indeed  a 
pledge,  yea,  and  a  part  of  eternal  glory,  than  to  have 
a  vision  from  the  Almighty,  or  hear  a  voice  wit- 
nessing from  heaven,  and  saying,  "  Thou  art  my 
beloved  Son,  in  whom  my  soul  is  well  pleased." 
This  that  1  am  speaking  of  is  a  true  foundation  of 
heaven  itself  in  the  soul,  a  real  beginning  of  happi- 
ness :  for  happiness,  heaven  itself,  is  nothing  else 
but  a  perfect  conformity,  a  cheerful  and  eternal  com- 
pliance of  all  the  powers  of  the  soul  with  the  will  of 
God  :  so  that,  as  far  as  a  godly  soul  is  thus  con- 
formed to  God,  and  filled  with  his  fulness,  so  far  is 
he  glorified  upon  earth. 

2.  Let  wisdom  then  be  justified  of  her  children; 
let  the  children  of  God,  those  that  are  his  genuine 
offspring,  rise  up  and  call  him  blessed,  in  imitation 
of  their  Lord  and  Saviour,  that  eldest  Son  of  God, 
that  "  first-born  amongst  many  brethren,"  who  re- 
joiced in  spirit,  and  said,  "  I  thank  thee,  Father, 
Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  that  thou  hast  revealed 
these  things,"  or,  according  to  the  style  of  the 
Apostle  Peter,  "  Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who,  according  to  his 
abundant  mercy,  hath  begotten  us  again!"  There 
is  no  greater  contradiction  in  the  world,  than  a  man 


94< 

pretending  religion,  and  yet  ascribing  it  to  himself; 
whereas,  pure  religion  is  purely  of  a  divine  original: 
besides,  religion  doth  principally  consist  in  the  sub- 
duing of  self-will,  in  conformity  to,  and  comphance 
with,  the  divine  will,  in  serving  the  interest  of  God's 
glory  in  the  world.  Then,  and  not  till  then,  may 
a  soul  be  truly  called  religious,  when  God  becomes 
greatest  of  all  to  it  and  in  it,  and  the  interest  of  God 
is  so  powerfully  planted  in  it,  that  no  other  interest, 
no  self-interest,  no  creature-love,  no  particular  private 
end,  can  grow  by  it,  no  more  than  the  magicians 
could  stand  before  Moses,  when  he  came  in  the 
power  of  God  to  work  wonders.  So  that  what 
Solomon  saith  of  self-seeking,  **  For  men  to  seek 
their  own  glory  is  not  glory;"  the  like  I  may  safely 
say,  upon  that  double  ground  that  I  have  laid  down, 
self-religion,  is  not  religion.  How  vainly,  and 
madlv,  do  men  dream  of  their  self-religion  carrying 
them  to  heaven  :  when  heaven  itself  is  nothing  else 
but  the  perfection  of  selt-denial,  and  God's  becoming 
all  things  to  the  saints,  1  Cor.  xv.  28.  Instead  of 
advancing  men  towards  heaven,  there  is  nothing  in 
the  world  that  doth  more  directly  make  war  against 
heaven,  than  that  proud  and  petulant  spirit  of  self- 
will,  that  rules  in  the  children  of  disobedience.  So 
that  when  the  Holy  Ghost  would  describe  David 
one  of  the  best  men,  to  the  best  advantage,  he  de- 
scribes him  with  opposition  to  self,  and  self-will,  "  a 
man  after  God's  own  heart;"  and  again,  "  he  served 
the  will  of  God  in  his  generation." 

There  have  been  of  old  a  great  number  of  philo- 
sophical men,  who  being  raised  up  above  the  specu- 
lation of  their  own  souls,   to  a  contemplation  of  a 


95 

Deity;  and  being  purged  by  a  lower  kind  of  virtue 
and  raoral  goodness,  from  the  pollutions  that  are  in 
this  world  through  lust,  did  yet  ultimately  settle 
into  themselves,  and  their  own  self-love.  They 
were  full  indeed,  but  it  was  not  with  the  "  fulness 
of  God,"  as  the  Apostle  speaks,  but  with  a  self- 
sufficiency;  the  leaven  of  self-love  lying  at  the  bot- 
tom did  make  them  swell  with  pride  and  self-conceit. 
Now  these  men,  though  they  were  free  from  gross 
external  enormities,  yet  did  not  attain  to  a  true 
knowledge  of  God,  nor  any  true  religion,  because 
they  set  up  themselves  to  be  their  own  idols,  and 
carried  such  an  image  of  themselves  continually 
before  their  eyes,  that  they  had  no  clear  and  spiri- 
tual discernment  of  God.  They  did,  as  it  is  storied 
of  one  of  the  Persian  kings,  enshrine  themselves  in 
a  temple  of  their  own.  But  what  speak  I  of  Hea- 
then philosophers?  Is  there  not  the  same  unclean 
spirit  of  self-adoration  to  be  found  amongst  many 
Christians,  yea,  and  teachers  of  Christianity  too  ? 
witness  that  whole  brood,  those  men,  who,  whilst 
they  hang  the  grace  of  God  upon  man's  free-will, 
do  utterly  rob  him  of  his  glory.  Some  of  these 
have  impudently  given  a  short,  but  unsavoury  answer 
to  the  Apostle's  question,  "  Who  maketh  you  to 
differ  from  another?"  I  make  myself  to  differ. 
These  men,  whilst  they  pretend  to  high  attainments, 
discover  alow  and  most  ignoble  spirit:  to  fasten  and 
feed  upon  any  thing  in  the  creature,  is  the  part  of  a 
low  and  degenerate  spirit;  on  the  other  hand,  it  is 
the  greatest  perfection  of  the  creature,  not  to  be  its 
own,  not  to  be  any  thing  in  itself,  or  any  way  dis- 
tinct from  the  blessed  God,  the  Father  and  Fountain 


96 

of  light  and  grace.  Holy  Paul  is  all  along  in  a 
different  strain,  "  I,  yet  not  I,  but  the  grace  of  God 
which  was  with  me."  I  told  you  before  what  a  fair 
and  honourable  character  the  Holy  Ghost  hath 
given  of  holy  David,  a  man  after  God's  own  heart; 
now  you  may  also  find  a  description  of  these  men, 
too,  in  Scripture,  not  much  differing  from  the  other 
in  phrase,  but  very  much  in  sense;  it  is  the  same 
that  is  given  of  the  proud  prince  of  Tyrus,  "  They 
set  their  heart  as  the  heart  of  God."  But  we,  if 
we  do  indeed  partake  of  the  divine  nature,  shall  not 
dare  to  take  any  part  of  the  divine  glory;  if  we  con- 
form to  God's  image,  we  shall  not  set  up  our  own. 
This  self-glorifying,  in  the  predominancy  of  it,  is 
utterly  inconsistent  with  true  religion,  as  fire  is  with 
water;  for  religion  is  nothing  else  but  the  shinings 
forth  of  God  into  the  soul,  the  reflection  of  a  beauty 
and  glory  which  God  hath  put  upon  it.  Give  all 
therefore  unto  God;  for  whatsoever  is  kept  back,  is 
sacrilegiously  purloined  from  him:  glory  we  in  the 
fulness  of  God  alone,  and  in  self-penury  and  nothing- 
ness. The  whole  of  religion  is  of  God.  Do  we 
see  and  discern  the  great  things  of  God?  It  is  by 
that  light  that  God  hath  set  up  in  us;  according  to 
that  of  the  Apostle,  "  The  things  of  God  knoweth 
no  man,  but  the  Spirit  of  God."  That  love  whereby 
we  love  him,  he  first  shed  abroad  in  our  hearts.  If 
our  souls  be  beautiful,  it  is  with  his  brightness,  the 
beauty  and  glory  of  essential  holiness,  according  to 
that  of  the  Apostle,  "  Partakers  of  his  holiness." 
If  we  be  really  and  truly  full,  we  receive  it  of  his 
fulness,  according  to  that  of  the  Apostle,  "  Filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  God."      In  a  word,  if  we  be 


97 

in  any  godlike  dispositions,  like  unto  him,  it  is  by 
his  spreading  of  his  image  in  us,  and  over  us.  By 
all  this,  it  appears  to  be  a  thing  not  only  wicked  and 
unwarrantable,  but  utterly  impossible  for  a  godly 
soul  to  exalt  himself  against  God,  for  grace  to 
advance  itself  against  divine  glory ;  for  grace  is 
nothing  else  but  a  communication  of  divine  glory; 
and  God  is  then  glorified,  when  the  soul,  in  holy 
and  gracious  dispositions,  becomes  like  unto  him. 
How  is  it  possible  that  grace  should  be  a  shadow  to 
obscure  divine  glory,  when  itself  is  nothing  else,  as 
it  comes  from  God,  but  a  beam  of  glory?  and  as  it 
is  found  in  the  creature,  may  properly  be  called  a 
reflection  of  it.  To  conclude  then,  be  ye  persuaded, 
that  a  man  hath  so  much  of  God,  as  he  hath  of 
humility,  and  self-denial,  and  self-nothingness,  and 
no  more;  he  is  so  far  of  God,  as  he  loves  him, 
honours  him,  imitates  him,  and  lives  to  him,  and  no 
further. 

3.  By  this  discovery  of  the  original  of  religion, 
we  come  to  understand  the  original  of  sin  and  wick- 
edness.  And  here,  according  to  the  method  wherein 
I  spoke  of  the  original  of  religion,  I  might  show 
you  how  the  original  of  sin  from  without,  is  of  the 
devil,  that  first  ushered  it  into  the  world,  and  ceaseth 
not  to  tempt  men  to  it  continually;  as  also  of  men, 
who  are  his  instruments;  and  that  it  does,  in  a  sense, 
spring  from  many  occasions  without.  But  these 
things  are  more  improperly  said  to  be  the  causes  of 
sin.  The  inward  cause  is  the  corrupt  heart  of  man, 
that  unclean  spirit,  that  devilish  nature,  which  is 
indeed  the  worst  and  most  pernicious  devil  in  the 
world  to  man.      It  is  an  old  saying,  "  One  man  is  a 

E  38 


98 

devil  to  another;"  which,  though  it  be,  in  some 
sense,  true,  yet  it  is  more  proper  to  say,  "  Man  is 
a  devil  to  himself,"  taking  the  spirit  and  principle  of 
apostacy,  that  rebellious  nature,  for  the  devil,  which 
indeed  doth  best  deserve  that  name.  But  yet,  if 
we  inquire  more  strictly  into  the  original  and  nature 
of  this  monster,  we  shall  best  know  what  to  say  of 
it,  and  how  to  describe  it,  by  what  we  have  heard 
of  religion.  Sin,  then,  to  speak  properly,  is  nothing 
else  but  a  degeneration  from  a  holy  state,  an  apos- 
tacy from  a  holy  God.  Religion  is  a  participation 
of  God,  and  sin  is  a  straggling  off  from  him.  There- 
fore it  is  wont  to  be  defined  by  negatives,  a  depar- 
ture from  God,  a  forsaking  of  him,  a  living  in  the 
world  without  him,  &c.  The  soul's  falling  off  from 
God,  does  describe  the  general  nature  of  sin;  but 
then,  as  it  sinks  into  itself,  or  settles  upon  the  world, 
and  fastens  upon  the  creature,  or  any  thing  therein; 
so  it  becomes  specified,  and  is  called  pride,  cove- 
tousness,  ambition,  and  by  many  other  names.  All 
souls  are  the  offspring  of  God,  were  originally 
formed  in  his  image  and  likeness;  and  when  they 
express  the  purity  and  holiness  of  the  divine  nature, 
in  being  perfect  as  God  is  perfect,  they  are  then 
called  the  children  of  God  :  but  those  impure  spirits 
that  do  lapse  and  slide  from  God,  may  be  said,  to 
implant  themselves  into  another  stock,  by  their  own 
low  and  earthly  lives,  and  are  no  more  owned  for 
the  children  of  God,  but  "  are  of  their  father  the 
devil."  By  which  you  may  understand  the  low  and 
base  original  of  sin  :  nothing  can  be  so  vile  as  that 
which,  to  speak  properly,  is  nothing  else  but  a  per- 
fect falling  off  from  glory  itself.      By  this  you  may 


99 

also,  by  the  way,  take  notice  of  the  miserable  con- 
dition of  unholy  souls.  We  need  not  call  for  fire 
and  brimstone  to  paint  out  the  wretched  state  of  sin- 
ful souls.  Sin  itself  is  hell  and  death,  and  misery 
to  the  soul,  as  being  a  departure  from  goodness  and 
holiness  itself;  I  mean  from  God,  in  conjunction 
with  whom  the  happiness,  and  blessedness,  and 
heaven  of  a  soul  doth  consist.  Avoid  it,  therefore, 
as  you  would  avoid  being  miserable. 


£2 


100 


CHAPTER  II. 

True  religion  described  hy  ivater  :  1 .  By  remon  of  the 
cleansing  mrtiie  of  it.  2.  By  reason  of  the  quenching 
viiiue  of  it'  The  nature  of  religion  described  by  a  well 
of  water :  That  it  is  a  principle  in  the  souls  of  men. 
An  examination  of  religion  by  this  test.  A  godly  man 
hath  neither  the  whole  of  his  business,  nor  his  motives, 
lying  without  him.  In  the  same  examination,  many 
things  internal  found  not  to  be  religion. 

I  COME  now  to  speak  of  the  nature  of  true  reli- 
gion, which  is  here  described  by  our  blessed  Lord, 
by  a  *' well  of  vvater :"  1.  By  water.  2.  By  a 
well  of  water.  I  shall  speak  something  of  both 
these,  but  more  briefly  of  the  former. 

1.  Pure  religion,  or  gospel-grace,  is  described  by 
water.  This  is  a  comparison  very  familiar  in  the 
Holy  Scriptures,  both  of  the  Old  Testament  and  the 
New.  By  this  similitude,  gospel-grace  was  typified 
in  the  ceremonial  law,  wherein  both  persons  and 
things,  ceremonially  unclean,  were  commanded  to 
be  washed  in  water,  as  is  abundantly  to  be  seen  in 
that  administration.  Under  this  notion  the  same 
grace  is  prayed  for  by  the  Psalmist,  when  he  had 
defiled  himself  in  the  bed  of  a  stranger:  "Wash 
me,  and  I  shall  be  whiter  than  snow."  He  had 
drunk  water  out  of  a  strange  cistern,  as  his  son  Solo- 
mon describes  that  unclean  act,  Prov.  v.  15.  and  now 
lie  calls  out  for  water  from  the  fountain  of  grace,  to 
undefile  him  :  he  now  cries  out  for  water  from  the 
fountain  of  grace,  the  blessed  Messiah,  that  sprung 


101 

up  into  the  world  at  Bethlehem,  and  that  \vith  more 
earnestness  than  formerly;  we  read  that  he  wished 
for  the  water  of  the  well  of  Bethlehem,  which  is  by 
the  gate,  2  Sam.  xxiii.  In  the  same  phrase  the 
same  grace  is  promised  by  the  ministry  of  the  pro- 
phets, who  prophesied  of  the  grace  that  should  come 
unto  us.  Thus  we  read  of  the  fair  and  flourishing 
state  of  the  church,  "  Thou  shalt  be  like  a  watered 
garden,  and  like  a  spring  of  water,  whose  waters 
fail  not;"  and  of  the  fruitful  state  of  the  gospel 
proselytes,  "  All  the  rivers  of  Judah  shall  flow  with 
waters,  and  a  fountain  shall  come  forth  of  the  house 
of  the  Lord,  and  shall  water  the  valley  of  Shittim." 
Which  promises  are  understood  of  the  grace  of 
sanctification,  as  the  prophet  Ezekiel  showeth  plainly, 
"  I  will  sprinkle  clean  water  upon  you,  and  ye  shall 
be  clean  ;  from  all  your  filthiness,  and  from  all  your 
idols  will  I  cleanse  you :"  for  ordinary  elementary 
water  cannot  cleanse  men  from  idols.  The  prophet 
Isaiah  also  puts  it  out  of  doubt,  whose  prophecy,  to- 
gether with  the  interpretation  of  it,  we  find  both  in 
one  verse,  "  I  will  pour  water  upon  him  that  is 
thirsty,  and  floods  upon  the  dry  ground;  I  will  pour 
my  Spirit  upon  thy  seed,  and  my  blessing  upon 
thine  offspring."  By  the  same  ceremony,  the  gos- 
pel dispensation  shadows  out  the  same  mystery  in 
the  sacrament  of  baptism  ;  and,  by  the  same  phrase, 
our  Saviour  offers  and  promises  the  same  grace,  ''If 
any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink  :" 
and  his  Apostles  after  him,  who,  in  allusion  to  water, 
call  this  grace  the  ''  washing  of  regeneration,"  To 
which  I  might  add,  1  Pet.  iii.  21.  and  many  other 
texts,  if  it  needed. 


10^ 

Now,  as  the  grace  of  God  is  compared  to  fire, 
because  of  its  refining  nature,  and  consuming  the 
dross  and  refuse  of  lust  in  the  soul;  and  to  other 
things  for  other  reasons  :  so  it  is  compared  to  water, 
especially  for  those  two  properties,  namely,  cleansing 
and  quenching  :  for  observe  this,  by  the  way,  that  it  is 
a  very  injurious  thing  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  to  press  the 
metaphors  which  he  useth  in  Scripture,  further  than 
they  naturally  and  freely  serve.  Neither  are  we  to 
adhere  to  the  letter  of  the  metaphor,  but  to  attend 
to  the  scope  of  it.  If  we  tenaciously  adhere  to  the 
phrase,  wanton  wits  will  be  ready  to  quarrel  with 
absurdities,  and  so  unawares  run  into  strange  blas- 
phemies :  they  will  cry  out  presently,  How  can  fire 
wash  ?  when  they  read  that  of  the  prophet,  "  The 
Lord  will  wash  away  the  filth  of  the  daughter  of 
Zion,  by  the  spirit  of  burning."  But  who  art  thou, 
O  man  [  that  wilt  teach  him  to  speak,  who  formed 
the  tongue?  The  Spirit  of  God  intends  the  virtue 
and  property  of  things,  when  he  names  them  ;  and 
that  we  must  mainly  attend  to. 

(1.)  Therefore,  by  the  phrase  water^  is  the  cleans- 
ing nature  of  religion  commended  to  us  :  it  is  the 
undefiling  of  the  soul,  which  sin  and  wickedness 
hath  polluted:  sin  is  often  described  in  Scripture  by 
filthiness,  loathsomeness,  abomination,  uncleanness, 
a  spot,  a  blemish,  a  stain,  a  pollution;  which  indeed 
is  a  most  proper  description  of  it.  The  spots  of 
leprosy,  and  the  scurf  of  the  foulest  scurvy,  are 
beauty-spots  in  comparison  of  it.  Job  upon  the 
dunghill,  furnished  cap-a-pee  with  scabs  and  boils, 
was  not  half  so  loathsome  as  goodly  Absalom,  in 
whose  body  "  there  was  no  blemish  from  the  sole  af 


103 

his  foot  to  the  crown  of  his  head  ;"  but  his  soul  was 
stained  with  the  sanguine  spots  of  mahce  and  re- 
venge, and  festered  with  the  loathsome  carbuncle 
and  tumour  of  ambition.  Lazarus,  lying  at  the 
gates  full  of  raw  and  running  sores,  was  a  far  more 
lovely  object  in  the  pure  eyes  of  God,  than  dame 
Jezebel,  looking  out  at  the  window,  adorned  with 
spots  and  paints.  If  the  best  of  a  godly  man  that 
he  hath  of  his  own,  even  his  righteousness,  be  as  a 
filthy  rag,  whence  shall  we  borrow  a  phrase  foul 
enough  to  describe  the  worst  of  a  wicked  man,  even 
his  wickedness  ?  I  need  say  no  more  of  it,  I  can 
say  no  worse  of  it,  than  to  tell  you,  it  is  something 
contrary  to  God,  who  is  the  eternal  Father  of  light, 
who  is  beauty,  and  brightness,  and  glory  itself;  or, 
to  give  it  you  in  the  Apostle's  phrase,  "  A  falling 
short  of  the  glory  of  God."  Which  hath  made  me 
many  times  to  wonder,  and  almost  ready  to  cry  out 
with  the  prophet,  "  Be  astonished,  O  ye  heavens,  at 
this,"  when  I  have  seen  poor,  ignorant,  wicked,  and 
profane  wretches,  passing  by  a  person,  or  a  family, 
visited  with  some  loathsome  disease,  in  a  mixture  of 
fear  and  disdain,  stopping  their  noses  and  hastening 
away  ;  when  their  own  souls  have  been  more  vile 
than  the  dung  upon  the  earth,  spotted  with  igno- 
rance and  atheism,  swollen  with  the  risings  of  pride 
and  self-will,  and  contempt  of  God  and  his  holy 
image.  This  might  well  be  a  matter  of  wonder  to 
any  man,  till  he  consider  with  himself,  that  one  part 
of  these  men's  uncleanness,  is  that  very  blindness 
which  keeps  them  from  discerning  it :  I  speak  prin- 
cipally of  the  defilement  of  the  soul;  though  indeed 
the  same  do  pollute  the  whole  conversation  :  every 


104. 

action  springing  from  such  an  unclean  heart,  thereby 
becomes  filthy  ;  even  as  Moses'  hand,  put  into  his 
bosom,  became  leprous  ;  or  rather  as  one  that  is 
unclean  by  a  dead  body,  defileth  all  that  he  toucheth, 
Hag.  ii.  13. 

Now,  religion  is  the  cleansing  of  this  unclean 
spirit  and  conversation;  so  that,  though  the  soul 
were  formerly  as  filthy  and  odious  as  Augeas'  stable, 
when  once  those  living  waters  flow  into  it,  and 
through  it,  from  the  pure  fountain  of  grace  and  holi- 
ness, the  Spirit  of  our  God,  one  may  say  of  it,  as 
the  Apostle  of  his  Corinthians,  "  Such  were  some 
of  you;  but  ye  are  washed,  but  ye  are  sanctified," 
&c.  The  soul  that  before  was  white  as  leprosy,  is 
now  white  as  wool,  Isa.  i.  18.  The  soul  that  be- 
fore was  like  Moses'  hand,  leprous  as  snow,  is  now 
like  David's  heart,  white  as  snow;  yea,  and  whiter 
too.  O  what  a  beauty  and  glory  is  upon  that  godly 
soul,  that  shines  with  the  image  and  brightness  of 
God  upon  it !  Solomon,  in  all  his  glory,  was  not 
beautiful  like  such  a  soul:  nay,  I  dare  say,  the  splen- 
dour of  the  sun,  in  its  greatest  strength  and  altitude, 
is  a  miserable  glimmering,  if  it  be  compared  with  the 
day-star  of  religion,  that  even  in  this  life  arises  in 
the  heart ;  or,  if  you  will,  in  the  prophet's  style,  the 
Sun  of  Righteousness,  which  ariseth  with  healing  in 
his  wings,  upon  them  that  fear  the  name  of  God. 
To  speak  without  a  metaphor,  the  godly  soul,  hav- 
ing entertained  in  itself  the  pure  effluxes  of  divine 
light  and  love,  breathes  after  nothing  more  than  to 
see  more  familiarly,  and  to  love  more  ardently  :  its 
inclinations  are  pure  and  holy ;  its  motions  spiritual 
and  powerful ;  its  delights   high   and  heavenly  ;  it 


105 

may  be  said  to  rest  in  its  love ;  and  yet  it  may  be 
said,  that  love  will  not  suffer  it  to  rest,  but  is  still 
carrying  it  out  into  a  more  intimate  union  with  its 
beloved  object.  What  is  said  of  the  ointment  of 
Christ's  name,  is  true  of  the  water  of  his  Spirit;  it 
is  poured  forth,  "  therefore  do  the  virgins  love  him  :" 
religion  begets  a  chaste  and  virgin  love  in  the  soul 
towards  that  blessed  God  that  begot  it;  it  bathes 
itself  in  the  fountain  that  produced  it;  and  suns  it- 
self perpetually  in  the  warm  beams  that  first  hatched 
it.  Religion  issues  from  God  himself,  and  is  ever 
issuing  out  towards  God  alone,  passionately  breathing 
with  the  holy  Psalmist,  "  Whom  have  1  in  heaven 
but  thee  ?  In  earth  there  is  none  that  I  desire  be- 
side thee  !"  The  soul  that  formerly  may  be  said  to 
have  lain  among  the  pots,  by  reason  of  its  filthiness, 
is  now  as  the  wings  of  a  dove  covered  with  silver, 
and  her  feathers  with  yellow  gold ;  the  soul  that 
formerly  may  be  said  to  have  sitten  down  by  the 
flesh-pots  of  Egypt,  in  regard  of  its  sensual  and 
earthly  loves,  being  redeemed  by  the  almighty  grace 
of  God,  is  upon  its  way  to  the  holy  land,  hastening 
to  a  country,  not  earthly  but  heavenly.  This  pure 
principle  being  put  into  the  soul,  puts  it  upon  holy 
studies,  indites  holy  meditations,  directs  it  to  high 
and  noble  ends,  and  makes  all  its  embraces  to  be 
pure  and  chaste,  labouring  to  compass  God  himself, 
which  before  were  adulterous  and  idolatrous,  only 
free  for  sin,  and  self,  and  the  world,  to  lodge  and 
lie  down  in.  In  a  word,  this  offspring  of  heaven, - 
this  King's  daughter,  the  godly  soul,  "  is  all  glorious 
within  :"  yea,  and  outwardly  too,  she  is  clothed  with 
wrought  gold.      Her  faith  within  is  more  precious 

e3 


106 

than  gold,  and  her  conversation  curiously  made  up 
of  an  embroidery  of  good  works,  some  of  piety,  some 
of  charity,  some  of  sobriety,  but  all  of  purity,  shineth 
with  more  noble  and  excellent  splendour,  than  the 
high  priest's  garments  and  breast-plate  spangled  with 
such  variety  of  precious  stones.  This  precious  oint- 
ment, this  holy  unction,  as  the  Apostle  calls  it,  is  as 
diffusive  of  itself,  and  ten  thousand  times  more  fra- 
grant, than  that  of  Aaron,  so  much  commended  in 
Psal.  cxxxiii.  that  ran  down  from  his  head  upon  his 
beard,  and  from  thence  upon  the  skirts  of  his  garment. 
"  Not  my  feet  only,  but  my  hands  and  my  head, 
Lord,"  said  Peter,  not  v/ell  knowing  what  he  said ; 
but  the  soul  that  is  truly  sensible  of  the  excellent 
purity  which  is  caused  by  divine  washings,  longs  to 
have  the  whole  man,  the  whole  life  also,  made  par- 
taker of  it,  and  cries.  Lord,  not  my  head  only,  not 
my  heart  only,  but  my  hands  and  my  feet  also,  make 
me  wholly  pure,  as  God  is  pure.  In  a  word,  then, 
true  religion  is  the  cleansing  of  the  soul,  and  all  the 
powers  of  it;  so  that,  whereas  murderers  sometimes 
lodged  in  it,  now  righteousness ;  the  den  of  thieves, 
thievish  lusts  and  loves,  and  interests,  and  ends, 
which  formerly  stole  away  the  soul  from  God,  its 
right  owner,  is  now  become  a  temple  fit  for  the  great 
King  to  dwell,  and  live^  and  reign  in :  and  the 
whole  conversation  is  turned  from  its  wonted  vanity, 
worldHness,  and  iniquity,  and  is  continually  em- 
ployed about  things  that  are  "  true,  honest,  just, 
pure,  lovely,  and  of  good  report." 

(2.)  By  the  phrase  water^  the  quenching  nature  of 
religion  is  commended  to  us.  God  hath  endued  the 
immortal  soul   with,  a  restless  appetite,  and  raging 


107 

thirst  after   some   chief  good,    which   the  heart  of 
every  man  is  continually  groping  after,  and  catching 
at,  though  indeed   few  find  it,  because  they  seek  it 
where  it  is  not  to  be  found.      If  we  speak  properly, 
it  is  not  gold,  or  silver,   or  popular  applause,  which 
the  covetous  or  ambitious  mind  doth  ultimately  aim 
at,   but  some  chief  good,  happiness,  sufficiency,  and 
satisfaction  in  these  things;   wherein  they  ar6  more 
guilty  of  blasphemy  than  atheism  :  for  it  is  clear  that 
they  do  not  deny  a   supreme  good  ;  for  that  which 
men  chiefly  and  ultimately  aim  at,  is  their  god,  be  it 
what  it  will ;  but  they  do  verily  blaspheme  the  true 
God,  when  they  place  their  happiness  there  where 
it  is  not  to  be  found,  and  attribute  that  fulness  and 
sufficiency  to  something  else  besides  the  living  God. 
Sin  hath  not  destroyed  the  nature  and   capacity   of 
the  rational  soul,  but   hath  diverted  the   mind  frc»m 
its  adequate  object,  and  hath   sunk  it  into  the  crea- 
ture,  where  it  wanders   hither  and   thither,   like   a 
banished   man,   from   one    den   and  cave  to  another, 
but   is   secure   no   where.      A    wicked  man,  who  is 
loosed   from    his  centre   by  sin,  and   departed   from 
the   fountain    of  his   life,  flies  low  in  his  affections, 
and  flutters  perpetually  about  the  earth,  and  earthly 
objects,  but  can  find  no  more  rest  for  the  foot  of  his 
soul,  than  Noah's    dove   could   find  for   the  sole  of 
her  foot.      Now,  religion  is  the  hand  that  pulls  this 
wandering  bird  into    her  own  ark  from  whence  she 
was  departed ;  it  settles   the  soul   upon    its   proper 
centre,  and  quenches  its  burning  thirst  after  happi- 
ness.     And  for   this  reason  it  is  called  'water'  in 
Scripture.      "  The   Lord  shall  satisfy  thy  soul  in 
drought;"  and  "  I  will  pour  water  upon  him  that  is 


108 

thirsty,  and  floods  upon  the  dry  ground ;"  compared 
with  John  vii.  37.   "  Jesus  stood  and  cried,   saying, 
If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me,  and  drink." 
Reh({ion    is    a    taste    of   infinite    goodness,    which 
quenches  the  soul's  thirst  after  all  other  created  and 
finite  good ;   even    as  that  taste   which   honest   Na- 
thanael  had  of  Christ's  divinity,   took  him  off  from 
the  expectation  of  any  Messiah  to  come,   and  made 
him  cry  out  presently,  "  Rabbi,  thou  art  the  Son  of 
God;  thou  art  the  King  of  Israel."      And  every  re- 
ligious soul  hath  such  a  taste  of  God,   even  in  this 
life,   which,   though  it  do  not  perfectly  fill  him,   yet 
doth   perfectly  assure  him   where  all   fulness  dwells. 
But  of  this  I  shall  have  occasion  to  discourse  more 
largely,   when  I  come  to  treat  of  the  consequents  of 
true  religion. 

2.  I  proceed,  therefore,  to  the  second  phrase, 
whereby  our  Saviour  describes  the  nature  of  true 
religion;  it  is  a  well,  a  fountain  in  the  soul,  "  Shall 
be  in  him  a  well  of  water."  From  which  phrase, 
to  waive  niceties,  I  shall  only  observe, 

"  That  religion  is  a  principle  in  the  souls  of 
men." 

The  water  that  Christ  pours  into  the  soul  is  not 
like  the  water  he  pours  upon  our  streets,  that  washes 
them,  and  runs  away ;  but  it  becomes  a  cleansing 
principle  within  the  soul  itself;  every  drop  from  God 
becomes  a  fountain  in  man;  not  as  a  man  had  a  kind 
of  ccvro?^oj'/]  in  himself,  or  were  the  first  spring  of  his 
own  motions  towards  God:  I  find  not  any  will  in 
the  natural  man  so  divinely  free.  God  hath  indeed 
given  this  to  his  natural  Son,  his  only  begotten  Son, 
to  have  ''  life  in  himself,"  but  not  to  any  of  his 


109 

adopted   ones.      If  you  ask  me  concerning  man  in 
his  natural  capacity,   I  am  so  far  from  thinking  that 
he  hath  a  self-quickening  power,  a  principle  of  life 
in   himself,   that   I  must  needs  assert  the  contrary, 
with  the  Apostle,  that  he  is  "  dead  in  trespasses  and 
sins ;"  so  far  from  thinking  that  he  hath  in  himself 
a  well  of  water,   that  I  must  call  him,  with  the  pro- 
phet,   "  thirsty  and  dry  ground."      As  for  the  re- 
generate man,   I  will  not  enter  into  that  deep  con- 
troversy concerning  the  co-operation   of  man's  will 
with  the  Spirit  of  God,  and  its  subordination  to  that 
in  all  gracious  acts,  or  what  a  kind  of  cause  of  them 
this  renewed  will  of  man  may  be  safely  called;  only 
1  will  affirm,  that  repenting  and  believing  are  pro- 
perly  man's  acts,   and   yet   they   are   performed   by 
God's  power;  first,  Christ  must  give  this  water  ere 
it  can   be   a    well  of  water   in    the   soul;   which   is 
enough,   I   suppose,    to   clear  me  from  siding  with 
either  of  those  parties,   whether  those  that  ascribe 
to    God   that   which   he   cannot   do,    or    those  that 
ascribe  to  free-will  that  which  God   alone   can  do. 
But  I  fear   nothing   from  these   controversies ;   for 
the   way  wherein  I  shall  discourse  of  this  matter, 
will  nothing  at  all  border  upon  them.      This,   then, 
I  affirm,   that   religion   is  a  living  principle  in  the 
souls    of  good   men  :   1  cannot    better  describe   the 
nature  of  religion,   than  to  say  it  is  a  nature;   for  so 
does   the   Apostle   speak,   or   at   least   allows   us   to 
speak,   when  he  calls  it   a  participation  of  a  divine 
nature.      Nothing   but   a  nature   can   partake   of  a 
nature;  a  man's  friend  may  partake  of  his  goodness 
and  kindness,  but  his  child  only  partakes  of  his  na- 
ture:  he  that  begets,  begets  a  nature;  and  so  doth 


110 

he   that    begets   again.      The  sun    enlightens    the 
world    outwardly,    but   it  does  not   give  a  sun-like 
nature  to  the  things   so   enlightened;   and  the  rain 
doth  moisten  the  earth,   and  refresh  it  inwardly,  but 
it  does  not  beget  the  nature  of  water  in  the  earth  : 
*'  But  this  water  that   I   give,"   says  our   Saviour, 
*'  becometh  a  well  of  water  in  the  soul."      Religion 
is  not  any  thing  without  a  man,  hanging  upon  him, 
or  annexed  to  him ;   neither  is  it  every  something 
that  is  in   a  man,   as  we  shall  see  anon;   but  it  is  a 
divine  principle,  informing  and  actuating  the  souls 
of  good  men,  a  living  and  lively  principle,  a  free  and 
flowing  principle,  a  strong  and  lasting  principle,   an 
inward  and  spiritual  principle.      I  must  not  speak  of 
all  these  distinctly  in   this  place,   for  fear  of  inter- 
fering in  my  discourse.      When  I  say  religion  is  a 
principle,   a  vital  form   acting  the   soul,  and  all  the 
powers  of  it,   an  inward  nature,  &c.  saith   not  the 
Scripture  the  same  here,  a  well  or  fountain  of  water? 
And   elsewhere,   "  a  new  man,   the   hidden  man  of 
the  heart,  the  inward  man."      As  the  soul  is  called 
an  inward  man,  respective  to  the  body,  2  Cor.  iv.  16. 
so  religion  is  called  an  inward  man  respective  to  the 
soul  itself,   Rom.  vii.  22.      It  is  a  man  within  man. 
The  man  that  is  truly  alive  to   God,  hath  in  him 
not  only  inward  parts,   for  so  a  dead  man  hath,   but 
an    inward   man,    an   inward   nature   and    principle. 
Again,   it  is   called  a  root.   Job  xix,  28.  or,   if  not 
there,  yet  plainly  in  Mark  iv.  17.  where  temporary 
professors  are   said  to  have  no   root  in   themselves. 
And  this  it  is,   by  the   same   propriety   of  speech, 
whereby  a  wicked   principle  is  called,   "  A  root  of 
bitterness."      Again,  it  is  called  a  seed,  the  seed  of 


Ill 

God,  1  John  iii.  9.  where  this  seed  of  God  is  called 
an  abiding  or  remaining  principle.  In  the  first 
creation,  God  made  the  trees  of  the  earth,  having 
their  seed  in  themselves,  and  in  the  new  creation, 
these  trees  of  righteousness  of  God's  planting,  are 
also  made  with  seed  in  themselves,  though  not  of 
themselves.  It  is  said  to  be  the  seed  of  God  in- 
deed, but  remaining  in  the  godly  souL  Again,  it 
is  called  a  treasure,  in  opposition  to  an  alms  or 
annuity,  that  lasteth  but  for  a  day  or  a  year,  as  a 
well  of  water,  in  opposition  to  a  dish  of  water:  and 
a  treasure  of  the  heart,  in  opposition  to  all  outward 
and  earthly  treasures.  It  is  a  treasure  affording^ 
continual-expenses,  not  exhausted,  yea,  increased  by 
expenses;  wherein  it  exceeds  all  treasures  in  the 
world.  By  the  same  propriety  of  speech,  sin  is 
called  a  treasure  too,  but  it  is  an  evil  treasure,  as 
our  Saviour  speaks  in  that  same  place.  Do  you 
not  see  what  a  stock  of  wickedness  sinful  men  have 
within  themselves,  which,  although  they  have  spent 
upon  ever  since  they  were  born,  yet  it  is  not  im- 
paired, nay,  it  is  much  augmented  thereby :  and 
shall  not  the  second  Adam  bestow  something  as  cer- 
tain and  permanent  upon  his  offspring,  as  the  first 
Adam  conveyed  to  his  posterity  ?  Though  men 
have  something  without  them,  to  guide  them  in  the 
way  of  life,  yet  it  is  som«  living  principle  within 
them,  that  denominates  them  living  men.  The 
Scripture  will  abundantly  inform  you  which  is  the 
true  circumcision  :  "  In  whom  also  ye  are  circum- 
cised with  the  circumcision  made  without  hands,  in 
putting  off  the  body  of  the  sins  of  the  flesh  by  the 
circumcision  of  Christ;"  the  true  sacrifice  to  Godj. 


112 

"  The  sacrifices  of  God  are  a  broken  spirit :  a 
broken  and  a  contrite  heart,  O  God,  thou  wilt  not 
despise."  And  indeed  the  law  itself  is  not  so  much 
to  be  considered  as  it  was  engraven  in  tables  of 
stone,  as  being  written  in  the  heart.  The  Jews 
needed  not  have  taken  up  their  rest  in  the  law,  con- 
sidered as  an  outward  rule  or  precept;  for  they 
knew,  or  might  have  known,  that  God  requireth 
''  truth  in  the  inward  parts,"  as  one  of  themselves, 
a  prophet  and  a  king  of  their  own,  acknowledgeth. 
But  I  doubt  many  Christians  are  also  sick  of  the 
same  disease,  whilst  they  view  the  gospel  as  a  his- 
tory, and  an  external  dispensation;  whereas,  the 
Apostle,  when  he  opposeth  it  to  the  law,  seems  alto- 
gether to  make  it  an  internal  thing,  a  vital  form  and 
principle,  seated  in  the  minds  and  spirits  of  men, 
2  Cor,  iii.  The  law  was  an  external  rule  or  dis- 
pensation, that  could  not  give  life,  though  it  showed 
the  way  to  it ;  but  the  gospel,  in  the  most  proper 
notion  of  it,  seems  to  be  an  internal  impression  from 
God,  a  living  principle,  whereby  the  soul  is  enabled 
to  express  a  real  conformity  to  God  himself.  If  we 
consider  the  gospel,  in  the  history  of  it,  and  as  a 
piece  of  book-learning,  it  is  as  weak  and  impotent  a 
thing  as  the  law  was;  and  men  may  be  as  formal  in 
the  profession  of  this,  as  they  were  of  that,  which 
we  see  by  daily  sad  experience.  But  if  we  consider 
the  gospel,  as  an  efflux  of  life  and  power  from  God 
himself  upon  the  soul,  producing  life  wherever  it 
comes,  then  we  have  a  clear  distinction  between  the 
law  and  the  gospel ;  to  which  the  Apostle  seems  to 
refer,  when  he  calls  the  Corinthians  "  the  epistle  of 
Christ,  not  written  with  ink,  nor  in  the  tables  of 


113 

stone,  but  witli  the  Spirit  of  the  living  God,  in 
fleshly  tables  of  the  heart."  According  to  which 
notion  of  the  law  and  gospel,  I  think  we  may,  with 
a  learned  man  of  our  own,  come  to  a  good  under- 
standing of  that  controverted  text,  Jer.  xxxi.  33. 
quoted  by  the  Apostle,  Heb.  x.  16.  "  This  is  the 
covenant  that  1  will  make,  1  will  put  my  law  into 
their  minds,"  &c.  The  gospel  doth  not  so  much 
consist  in  words  as  in  virtue;  a  divine  principle  of 
religion  in  the  soul,  is  the  best  gospel :  and  so 
Abraham  and  Moses,  under  the  law,  were  truly  gos- 
pellers;  and,  on  the  other  hand,  all  carnal  Christians 
that  converse  with  the  gospel,  only  as  a  thing  with- 
out them,  are  as  truly  legal,  and  as  far  short  of  the 
righteousness  of  God,  as  ever  any  of  the  Jews  were. 

Thus  we  see  that  religion  is  a  principle  in  the 
souls  of  good  men^ — "  Shall  be  in  him  a  well  of 
water." 

We  shall  now  take  notice  of  the  difference  be- 
tween the  true  and  all  counterfeit  religions.  Reli- 
gion is  that  pearl  of  great  price,  which  few  men  are 
possessed  of,  though  all  men  pretend  to  it,  Laodi- 
cean-like, saying,  they  are  rich,  and  need  nothing, 
when  indeed  they  are  poor,  and  have  nothing. 
This,  then,  shall  be  the  test  by  which,  at  present, 
we  will  a  little  try  the  counterfeit  pearls.  True 
religion  is  an  inward  nature,  an  inward  and  abiding 
principle  in  the  minds  of  good  men,  "  a  well  of 
water." 

(1.)  Then,  we  must  exclude  all  things  that  are 
merely  external;  these  are  not  it.  Religion  is  not 
something  annexed  to  the  soul  from  without,  but  a 
new  nature  put  into  it.  And  here  we  shall  glance 
at  two  things. 


114 

1st,  A  godly  soul  does  not  find  the  whole  of  his 
business  lying  without  him.  Religion  does  not 
consist  in  external  reformations,  though  ever  so 
many  and  specious.  A  false  and  overly  religion 
may  serve  to  tie  men's  hands,  and  reduce  their  out- 
ward actions  to  a  fair  seemliness  in  the  eyes  of  men  : 
but  true  religion's  main  dominion  and  power  is  over 
the  soul,  and  its  business  lies  mostly  in  reforming 
and  purging  the  heart,  with  all  the  affections  and 
motions  thereof.  It  is  not  a  battering-ram  coming 
from  without,  and  serving  to  beat  down  the  out- 
works of  open  and  visible  enormities  of  life;  but 
enters  with  a  secret  and  sweet  power  into  the  soul 
itself,  and  reduces  it  from  its  rebellious  temper,  and 
persuades  it  willingly  to  surrender  itself,  and  all  that 
is  in  it.  Sin  may  be  beaten  out  of  the  outward 
conversation,  and  yet  retire  and  hide  itself  in  the 
secret  places  of  the  soul,  and  there  bear  rule  as  per- 
fectly by  wicked  loves  and  lusts,  as  ever  it  did  by 
profane  and  notorious  practices.  A  man's  hands 
may  be  tied  by  some  external  cords  cast  upon  them, 
from  visible  revenge,  and  yet  murderers  may  lodge 
in  the  temple  of  his  heart,  as  murderers  lodged  in 
the  temple  of  old ;  men's  tongues  may  be  tied  up 
from  the  foul  sin  of  giving  fair  words  concerning 
themselves;  very  shame  may  chastise  them  out  of 
proud  boastings,  and  self-exaltings,  when,  in  the 
mean  time,  they  swell  in  self-conceit,  and  are  not 
afraid  to  bear  an  unchaste  and  sinful  love  towards 
their  own  perfections,  and  adore  an  image  of  self  set 
up  in  their  hearts.  What  a  fair  outside  the  Pha- 
risee had,  himself  will  best  describe ;  for  indeed  it  is 
one  of  his  properties  to  describe  himself,  Luke  xviii. 


115 

"  God,  I  thank  thee,  that  I  am  not,'*  &c.  But,  if  you 
will  have  a  draught  of  his  inside,  you  may  best  take 
it  from  our  Saviour,  Matth.  xxiii.  Neither  doth  re- 
ligion consist  in  external  performances,  though  ever 
so  many,  and  seemingly  spiritual.  Many  professors 
of  Christianity,  I  doubt,  sink  all  their  religion  into 
a  constant  course  of  duties,  and  a  model  of  perfor- 
mances, being  mere  strangers  to  the  life,  and 
strength,  and  sweetness  of  true  religion.  Those 
things  are  needful,  and  useful,  and  helpful,  yea,  and 
honourable,  because  they  have  a  relation  and  some 
tendency  to  God;  but  they  are  apt  to  become  snares 
and  idols  to  superstitious  minds,  who  conceive  that 
God  is  some  way  gratified  by  these;  and  so  they 
take  up  their  rest  in  them.  That  religion,  that 
only  varnishes  and  beautifies  the  outside,  tunes  the 
tongue  to  prayer  and  conference,  instructs  and  ex- 
tends the  hands  to  diligence  and  alms-deeds,  that 
awes  the  conversation  into  some  external  righteous- 
ness or  devotion,  is  here  excluded,  as  also  by  the 
Apostle,  ]  Cor.  xiii.  Much  less  can  that  pass  for 
religion,  that  spends  itself  about  forms,  and  opinions, 
and  parties,  and  many  disputable  points,  which  we 
have  seen  so  much  of  in  our  own  generation.  The 
religion  that  runs  upon  modes,  and  turns  upon  in- 
terests, as  a  door  turns  upon  its  hinges,  is  a  poor, 
narrow,  scanty  thing,  and  may  easily  view  itself  at 
once,  altogether  from  first  to  last.  Men  may  be 
as  far  from  the  kingdom  of  heaven  in  their  more 
spiritual  forms,  and  orthodox  opinions,  as  they  were 
in  their  more  carnal  and  erroneous  ones,  if  they  take 
up  their  rest  in  them ;  neither  is  it  the  pursuing  of 
any  interest  that  will  denominate  them  religious^  but 
the  grand  interest  of  their  souls. 


116 

Sd,  A  godly  soul,  in  his  more  inward  and  spiri- 
tual acts,  hath  not  his  motive  without  him :  for  a 
man  may  be  somewhat  inward  in  his  motions,  and 
yet  as  outward  in  his  motives  as  the  former.  Reli- 
gious acts,  and  gracious  motions,  are  not  originally 
and  primarily  caused  by  some  weights  hung  upon 
the  soul,  either  by  God  or  men,  neither  by  the 
worldly  blessings  which  God  gives,  nor  the  heavy 
afflictions  which  he  sends.  The  wings,  by  which 
the  godly  soul  flies  out  towards  God,  are  not  waxed 
to  him,  as  the  poets  feign  Icarus's  to  have  been ; 
but  they  grow  out  of  himself,  as  the  wings  of  an 
eagle  that  flies  swiftly  towards  heaven  :  on  the  other 
hand,  a  soul  may  be  pressed  down  into  humiliation, 
under  the  heavy  weight  of  God's  judgments,  that 
has  no  mind  to  stoop,  no  self-denying  or  self-debas- 
ing disposition  in  it.  Thus  you  may  see  Jehu 
flying  upon  the  wings  of  ambition  and  revenge,  borne 
up  by  successes  in  his  government;  and  his  prede- 
cessor Ahab  bowing  down  mournfully  under  a  heavy 
sentence.  The  laws,  and  penalties,  and  encourage- 
ments, and  observations  of  men,  do  sometimes  put 
a  weight  upon  the  soul  too,  but  they  beget  a  more 
sluggish,  uneven,  and  unkindly  motion  in  it.  You 
may  expect,  that  under  this  head  I  should  speak 
something  of  heaven  and  hell;  and  truly  so  1  may 
pertinently,  for  I  think  they  do  belong  to  this  place. 
If  you  take  heaven,  properly,  for  a  full  and  glorious 
union  to  God,  and  fruition  of  him,  and  hell  for  an 
eternal  separation  and  straggling  from  the  divinity; 
and  suppose  that  the  love  of  God,  and  the  fear  of 
Jiving  without  him,  be  well  drunk  into  the  soul, 
then,  verily,  these  are  pure  and  religious  principles : 


117 

but  if  we  view  them  as  things  merely  without  us, 
and  reserved  for  us,  and  under  those  common,  carnal 
notions  of  delectableness  and  dreadfuhiess,  they  are 
no  higher  nor  better  motives  to  us,  than  the  carnal 
Jews  had  in  the  wilderness,  when  they  turned  their 
back  upon  Egypt,  where  they  had  been  in  bondage, 
and  set  their  faces  towards  Canaan,  where  they 
hoped  to  find  milk  and  honey,  peace,  plenty,  and 
liberty.  A  soul  is  not  carried  to  heaven,  as  a  body 
is  carried  to  the  grave,  upon  men's  shoulders  ;  it  is 
not  borne  up  by  props,  whether  human  or  divine; 
nor  carried  to  God  in  a  chariot,  as  a  man  is  carried 
to  see  his  friend;  the  holy  fire  of  ardent  love, 
wherein  the  soul  of  Elijah  had  been  long  carried  up 
towards  God,  was  something  more  excellent,  and 
indeed  more  desirable,  than  the  fiery  chariot  by 
which  his  body  and  soul  were  translated  together. 
Religion  is  a  spring  of  motion  which  God  hath  put 
into  the  soul  itself. 

And  as  all  things  that  are  external,  whether  ac- 
tions or  motives,  are  excluded  in  this  examination, 
which  we  make  of  religion  ;  so  neither, 

(2.)  Must  we  allovv  of  every  thing  that  is  internal, 
to  be  religion.      And,  therefore. 

First,  It  is  not  a  fit,  a  start,  a  sudden  passion  of 
the  mind,  caused  by  the  power  and  strength  of  some 
present  conviction  in  the  soul,  which,  in  a  hot  mood, 
will  needs  go  out  after  God  in  all  haste.  This  may 
fitly  be  compared  to  the  rash  and  rude  motion  of  the 
host  of  Israel,  who,  being  chidden  for  their  slothful- 
ness  over  night,  rose  up  early  in  the  morning,  and 
gat  them  up  into  the  top  of  the  mountain,  saying, 
"  Lo,  we  be  here,  and  will  go  up  unto  the  place 


118 

which  the  Lord  hath  promised  :  for  we  have  sinned." 
And,  indeed,  it  fares  with  these  men  oftentimes  as  it 
did  with  those,  both  as  to  the  undertaking,  and  as  to 
the  success ;  their  motion  is  as  sinful  as  their  sta- 
tion ;  and  their  success  is  answerable,  they  are  driven 
back  and  discomfited  in  their  enterprise.  Nay, 
though  this  passion  might  arise  so  high,  as  to  be 
called  an  ecstacy  or  a  rapture,  yet  it  deserves  not  the 
name  of  religion:  "  For  religion  is,"  as  one  speaks 
elegantly,  "like  the  natural  heat  that  is  radicated  in 
the  hearts  of  living  creatures,  which  hath  the  domi- 
nion of  the  whole  body,  and  sends  forth  warm  blood 
and  spirits,  and  vital  nourishment  into  every  part  and 
member ;  it  regulates  and  orders  the  motions  of  it  in 
a  due  and  even  manner."  But  these  ecstatical  souls, 
though  they  may  blaze  like  a  comet,  and  swell  like 
a  torrent  or  land-flood  for  a  time,  and  shoot  forth 
fresh  and  high  for  a  little  season,  are  soon  extin- 
guished, emptied,  and  dried  up,  because  they  have 
not  a  principle,  a  stock  to  spend  upon,  or,  as  our 
Saviour  speaks,  no  root  in  themselves.  These  men's 
motions  and  actions  bear  no  more  proportion  to  re- 
ligion, than  a  land-flood,  that  swells  high  and  runs 
swiftly,  but  it  is  only  during  the  rain  ;  or,  in  the 
Scripture  phrase,  no  more  than  a  morning  dew,  that 
soon  passes  away,  is  like  a  well  or  fountain  of  water. 
Second,  If  religion  be  a  principle,  a  new  nature  in 
the  soul,  then  it  is  not  a  mere  mechanism,  a  piece  of 
art.  Art  imitates  nature;  nothing  more  ordinary, 
I  fear,  than  for  religion  itself,  that  new  nature,  to 
go  into  an  art.  I  need  not  tell  you  how  all  the  ex- 
ternal acts  and  shootings  forth  of  religion,  may  be 
tlissembled  and  imitated  by  art,  and  be  acted  over  by 


119 

a  mimical,  apish  Pharisee,  who  finds  nothing  at  all 
of  tlie  gentle  and  mighty  heat,  nor  the  divine  and 
noble  life  of  it  in  his  own  soul,  whereby  he  may 
fairly  deceive  the  credulous  world,  as  I  have  partly 
hinted  already.  But  it  is  possible,  I  wish  it  be  not 
common,  for  men  that  are  somewhat  more  convinced, 
enlightened,  and  affected,  to  imitate  the  very  power 
and  spirit  of  religion,  and  to  deceive  themselves  too, 
as  if  they  possessed  some  true  living  principle ;  and 
herein  they  exceed  the  most  exquisite  painters. 
Now,  this  may  be  done  by  the  power  of  a  quick  and 
raised  fancy;  men  hearing  such  glorious  things 
spoken  of  heaven,  the  city  of  the  great  King,  the 
new  Jerusalem,  may  be  carried  out  by  the  power  of 
self-love,  to  wish  themselves  there,  being  mightily 
taken  with  a  conceit  of  the  place.  But  how  shall 
they  come  at  it  ?  Why,  they  have  seen  in  bboks, 
and  heard  in  discourses,  of  certain  signs  of  grace, 
and  evidences  of  salvation ;  and  now  they  set  their 
fancies  on  work,  to  find  or  make  some  such  things  in 
themselves.  Fancy  is  well  acquainted  with  the 
several  affections  of  love,  fear,  joy,  grief,  which  are 
in  the  soul,  and  having  a  great  command  over  the 
animal  spirits,  it  can  send  them  forth  to  raise  up 
these  affections,  even  almost  when  it  listeth  ;  and 
when  it  hath  raised  them,  it  is  but  putting  to  some 
thoughts  of  God  and  heaven,  and  then  these  look 
like  a  handsome  platform  of  true  religion  drawn  in 
the  soul,  which  they  presently  view,  and  fall  in  love 
with,  and  think  they  do  even  taste  of  the  powers  of 
the  world  to  come,  when  indeed  it  is  nothing  but  a 
self-fulness  and  sufficiency  that  they  feed  upon. 
Now,  you  may  know  this  artificial  religion  by  this ; 


these  men  can  vary  it,  alter  it,  enlarge  it,  straiten  it, 
and  new-mould  it  at  pleasure,  according  to  what 
they  see  in  others,  or  according  to  what  themselves 
like  best;  one  while  acting  over  the  joy  and  confi- 
dence Of  some  Christians,  anon  the  humiliation  and 
brokenness  of  others.  But  this  fanciful  religion, 
proceeding  indeed  from  nothing  but  low  and  carnal 
conceits  of  God  and  heaven,  is  of  a  flitting  and 
vanishing  nature.  But  true  Christians  are  gently, 
yet  powerfully,  moved  by  the  natural  force  of  true 
goodness,  and  the  beauty  of  God,  and  do  move  on 
steadily  and  constantly  in  their  way  to  him,  and  pur- 
suit of  him.  The  spirit  of  regeneration  in  good 
men  spreads  itself  upon  the  understanding,  and  sweet- 
ly insinuates  itself  through  the  will  and  affections, 
which  makes  true  religion  to  be  a  consistent  and 
thriving  principle  in  the  soul,  as  not  being  acted 
upon  the  stage  of  imagination,  but  upon  the  highest 
powers  of  the  soul  itself,  and  may  be  discerned  by 
the  evenness  of  its  motions,  and  the  immortality  of 
its  nature ;  for  a  good  man,  though  indeed  he  can- 
not go  on  always  with  like  speed  and  cheerfulness  in 
his  way,  yet  he  is  not  willing  at  any  time  to  be  quite 
out  of  it. 

By  this  same  nature  of  true  religion  you  may  ex- 
amine all  those  spurious  and  counterfeit  religions, 
that  spring  from  a  natural  belief  of  a  Deity,  from 
convictions,  observations,  fleshly  and  low  apprehen- 
sions of  heaven,  book-learning,  and  the  precepts  of 
men,  as  the  prophet  calls  them,  and  the  rest,  which 
are  seated  in  the  fancy,  and  swim  in  the  brain ; 
whose  effect  is  but  to  gild  the  outward  man,  or,  at 
best,  but  to  move  the  soul  by  an  external  force,  in 


121 

an  unnatural,  inconstant,  and  transient  manner.  In 
a  word,  all  these  pretenders  to  religion  may  seem  to 
have  water,  but  they  have  no  well ;  as  there  are 
others,  deep  men,  principled  indeed  with  learning, 
policy,  ingenuity,  &c.  but  not  with  true  goodness, 
whom  the  Apostle  calls  "  wells,"  but  *'  without  wa- 
ter." But  the  truly  godly,  and  godlike  soul,  hath 
in  itself  a  principle  of  pure  religion. — "  The  water 
that  I  shall  give  him,  shall  be  a  well  of  water 
springing  up  into  eternal  life." 


38 


CHAPTER  III. 

Containing  the  Jirst  'propertij  mentioned  of  true  religion y 
namely y  Thefreenessandunconstrainednessofit.  This 
freedom  considered  ai  to  its  Author ;  in  tvhich  is  con- 
sidered hotv  far  the  comvumd  of  God  may  be  said  to 
act  a  godly  soid.  Secondly,  Considered  as  to  its  object. 
Tivo  cautionary  concessions  :  1.  Th.at  some  things  zvith- 
oiit  the  sold  may  be  said  to  be  motives.  2.  That  there 
is  a  constraint  lying  upon  the  godly  soul ;  xvhich  yet 
takes  not  atvay  its  freedom. 

I  PROCEED  now,  from  the  nature  of  religion,  to 
speak  of  the  properties  or  it,  as  many  of  them  as  are 
couched  under  this  phrase,  "  springing  up  into  ever- 
lasting life.'*  Not  to  press  the  phrase  any  further 
than  it  will  naturally  afford  discourse,  Ish.all  only  take 
notice  of  these  three  properties  of  true  religion,  con- 
tained in  the  Word,  "springing  up," namely,  the  free- 
ness,  activity,  and  permanency,  or  perseverance  of  it. 

The  first  property  of  it,  couched  under  this  phrase, 
is,  that  it  is  free  and  unconstrained.  Religion  is  a 
principle,  and  it  flows  and  acts  freely  in  the  soul, 
after  the  manner  of  a  fountain  ;  and,  in  the  day  of 
its  mighty  power,  makes  the  people  a  willing  people, 
and  the  soul,  in  whom  it  is  truly  seated,  to  become 
a  free-will  offering  unto  God.  Alexander  the  Great 
subdued  the  world  with  force  of  arms,  and  made  men 
rather  his  tributaries  and  servants,  than  his  lovers 
and  friends  :  but  the  great  God,  the  king  of  souls, 
obtains  an  amicable  conquest  over  the  hearts  of  his 
elect,  and  overpowers  them  in  such  a  manner,  that 


123 

they  love  to  be  his  servants,  and  do  wilHngly  and 
readily  obey  him,  without  dissimulation  or  constraint, 
without  mercenariness  or  morosity  :  in  which  they 
are  unlike  to  the  subjects  of  the  kingdoms  of  the 
world,  who  are  kept  in  their  duties  by  fear  and 
force,  not  from  a  pure  kindness  and  benevolence  of 
mind,  to  whom  the  present  yoke  is  always  grievous. 
Hence  it  is  that  the  propagation  of  this  people  is 
called  their  flowing  unto  the  Lord,  "  The  mountain 
of  the  Lord's  house  shall  be  established,  and  all  na- 
tions shall  flow  unto  it;"  and,  again,  "  They  shall 
flow  together  to  the  goodness  of  the  Lord,"  And 
the  disposition  of  this  people  is  described  to  be  a 
hearty  and  willing  frame,  Eph.  vi.  6,  7.  and  else- 
where. Now,  this  willingness  or  freeness  of  godly 
souls  might  be  explained  and  confirmed  by  the  con- 
sideration both  of  their  outward  and  inward  acts. 

L  As  to  the  outward  acts  of  service  which  the 
true  Christian  performs,  he  is  freely  carried  out  to- 
wards them,  without  any  constraint  or  force.  If  he 
keep  himself  from  the  evils  of  the  place,  and  age, 
and  company,  wherein  he  lives  and  converses,  it  is 
not  by  a  restraint,  which  is  upon  him  merely  from 
without  him,  but  by  a  principle  of  holy  temperance 
planted  in  his  soul :  it  is  the  seed  of  God  abiding  in 
him,  that  preserves  him  from  the  commission  of  sin. 
He  is  not  kept  back  from  sin  as  a  horse  by  a  bridle, 
but  by  an  inward  and  spiritual  change  made  in  his 
nature.  On  the  other  hand,  if  he  employ  himself 
in  any  external  acts  of  moral  or  instituted  duty,  he 
does  it  freely,  not  as  of  necessity,  or  by  constraint. 
If  you  speak  of  acts  of  charity,  the  godly  man  gives 
from  a  principle  of  love  to  God,  and  kindness  to  his 

F  2 


124 

brother;  and  so  cheerfully,  "not  grudgingly,  or  of 
necessity."  An  alms  may  be  wrung  out  of  a  miser, 
but  it  proceeds  from  the  liberal  soul,  as  a  stream 
from  its  fountain :  therefore  he  is  called  a  deviser  of 
liberal  things,  and  one  that  standeth  upon  liberali- 
ties, as  those  last  words  of  Isa.  xxxii.  8.  are  rendered 
by  the  Dutch  translators.  If  you  speak  of  righte- 
ousness or  temperance,  he  is  not  overruled  by  power, 
or  compelled  by  laws,  but  indeed  actuated  by  the 
power  of  that  law  which  is  written  and  engraven 
upon  his  mind.  If  you  speak  of  acts  of  worship, 
whether  moral  or  instituted,  in  all  these  he  is  also 
free,  as  to  any  constraint.  Prayer  is  not  his  task, 
or  a  piece  of  penance,  but  it  is  the  natural  cry  of  the 
new-born  soul ;  neither  does  he  take  it  up  as  a  piece 
of  policy,  to  bribe  God's  justice,  or  engage  men's 
charity,  to  purchase  favour  with  God  or  man,  or  his 
own  clamorous  conscience  :  but  he  prays,  because  he 
wants,  and  loves,  and  believes  ;  he  wants  the  fuller 
presence  of  that  God  whom  he  loves  ;  he  loves  the 
presence  which  he  wants  ;  he  believes  that  He  that 
loves  him,  will  not  suffer  him  to  want  any  good  thing 
that  he  prays  for.  And  therefore  he  does  not  bind 
up  himself  severely,  and  limit  himself  penuriously  to 
a  mornuig  and  evening  sacrifice  and  solemnity,  as  to 
certain  rent-seasons,  wherein  to  pay  a  homage  of 
dry  devotion  ;  but  his  loving  and  longing  soul,  dis- 
daining to  be  confined  within  canonical  hours,  is  fre- 
quently soaring  in  some  heavenly  raptures  or  other, 
and  sallying  forth  in  holy  ejaculations  :  he  is  not 
content  vvith  some  weak  essays  towards  heaven,  in 
set  and  formal  prayer,  once  or  twice  a-day,  but 
labours  also  to  be  all  the  day  long  drawing  in  those 


125 

divine  influences,  and  streams  of  grace,  by  the  mouth 
of  faith,   which  he  begged  in  the  morning  by  the 
tongue  of  prayer ;  which  hath  made  me  sometimes 
think  it  a  proper  speech  to  say,  the  faith  of  prayer, 
as  well  as   the  prayer  of  faith;  for   believing,    and 
hanging  upon  divine  grace,  doth  really  drink  in  what 
prayer  opens  its  mouth  for,  and  is,  in  effect,  a  power- 
ful kind  of  praying  in  silence  :  by  believing  we  pray, 
as  well  as  in  praying  we  do  believe.      A  truly  godly 
man  hath  not  his  hands  tied  up  merely  by  the  force 
of  a  national  law,  no,  nor  yet  by  the  authority  of  the 
fourth  commandment,  to  keep  one  in  seven  a  day  of 
rest ;  as  he  is  not  content  with  mere  resting  upon 
the    Sabbath,    knowing   that    neither   working,   nor 
ceasing  from  work,  doth  of  itself  commend  a  soul  to 
God,  but  doth  press  after  intimacy  with  God  in  the 
duties  of  his  worship ;   so  neither  can  he  be  content 
with  one  Sabbath  in  a  week,   nor  think  himself  ab- 
solved from  holy  and  heavenly  meditations  any  day 
in  the  week  ;  but  labours  to  make  every  day  a  Sab- 
bath, as  to  the  keeping  of  his  heart  up  unto  God  in 
a  holy  frame,  and  to  find  every  day  to  be  a  Sabbath, 
as   to   the    communications  of  God  unto   his   soul  : 
though  the  necessities  of  his  body  will  not  allow  him, 
it  may  be,  though  indeed  God  hath  granted  this  to 
some  men,  to  keep  every  day  as  a   Sabbath  of  rest ; 
yet  the  necessities  of  his  soul  do  call  upon   him,  to 
make   every  day,   as   far  as   may  be,   a  Sabbath  of 
communion  with  the  blessed  God.      If  you  speak  of 
fasting,  he   keeps  not  fasts  merely  by  virtue  of  a 
civil,  no,  nor  a  divine  institution;  but,  from  a  principle 
of  godly  sorrow,   afflicts   his  soul  for  sin,   and  daily 
endeavours  more  and  more  to  be  emptied  of  himself. 


U6 

which  is  the  most  excellent  fasting  in  the  world.  If 
you  speak  of  thanksgiving,  he  does  not  give  thanks 
by  laws  and  ordinances,  but  having  in  himself  a  law 
of  tuaukfulness,  and  an  ordinance  of  love  engraven 
upon,  and  deeply  radicated  in  his  soul,  delights  to 
live  unto  God,  and  to  make  his  heart  and  life  a  liv- 
ing descant  upon  the  goodness  and  love  of  God ; 
which  is  the  most  divine  way  of  thank-offering  in 
the  world  ;  it  is  the  hallelujah  which  the  angels 
sing  continually.  In  a  word,  wherever  God  hath 
a  tongue  to  command,  true  godliness  will  find  a 
hand  to  perform  ;  whatever  yoke  Jesus  Christ 
shall  put  upon  the  soul,  religion  will  enable  to  bear 
it,  yea,  and  to  count  it  easy  too ;  the  mouth  of 
Christ  hath  pronounced  it  easy,  and  the  Spirit  of 
Christ  makes  it  easy.  Let  the  commandment  be 
what  it  will,  it  will  not  be  grievous.  The  same  spirit 
doth,  in  some  measure,  dwell  in  every  Christian, 
which,  without  measure,  dwelt  in  Christ,  who  counted 
it  "  his  meat  and  drink  to  do  the  will  of  his  Father." 
2.  And  more  especially,  the  true  Christian  is  free 
from  any  constraint  as  to  the  inward  acts  which  he 
performeth.  Holy  love  to  God  is  one  principal  act 
of  the  gracious  soul,  whereby  it  is  carried  out  freely, 
and  with  an  ardent  love  towards  the  object  that  is 
truly  and  infinitely  lovely  and  satisfactory,  and  to  the 
enjoyment  of  it.  I  know,  indeed,  that  this  springs 
from  self-indigency,  and  is  commanded  by  the  sove- 
reignty of  the  supreme  good,  the  object  that  the  soul 
eyes  :  but  it  is  properly  free  from  any  constraint. 
JLove  is  an  affection,  that  cannot  be  extorted  as  fear 
is ;  nor  forced  by  any  external  power,  nor  indeed 
internal  neither  :  the  revenues  of  the  king  of  Per- 


127 

sia,  or  the  treasures  of  Egypt,  cannot  commit  a  rape 
upon  it;  neither,  indeed,  can  the  soul  itself  raise  and 
lay  this  spirit  at  pleasure. 

Though  the  outward  bodily  acts  of  religion  are 
ordinarily  forced,  yet  this  pure,  chaste,  virgin  affec- 
tion cannot  be  ravished ;  it  seems  to  be  a  kind  of  a 
peculiar  in  the  soul,  though  under  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  understanding.  By  this  property  of  it,  it  is 
elegantly  described  by  the  Spirit  of  God  :  *'  If  a  man 
would  give  all  the  substance  of  his  house  for  love,  it 
would  utterly  be  contemned."  It  cannot  be  bought 
with  money,  or  money-worth,  cannot  be  purchased 
with  gifts  or  arts  ;  and  if  any  should  offer  to  bribe 
it,  it  would  give  him  a  sharp  and  scornful  check, 
in  the  language  of  Peter  to  Simon,  "  Thy  money 
perish  with  thee;"  love  is  no  hireling,  no  base- 
born,  mercenary  alrection,  but  noble,  free,  and 
generous.  Neither  is  it  lovv-spirited  and  slavish  as 
fear  is  :  therefore,  when  it  comes  to  full  age,  it  will 
not  suffer  this  son  of  the  bondwoman  to  divide  the 
inheritance,  the  dominions  of  the  soul,  with  it ; 
when  it  comes  to  be  "  perfect,  it  casteth  out  fear," 
says  the  Apostle.  Neither,  indeed,  is  it  directly 
under  the  authority  of  any  law,  whether  human  or 
divine  :  it  is  not  begotten  by  the  influence  of  a  di- 
vine law,  as  a  law,  but  as  holy,  just,  and  good,  as 
we  shall  see  anon  :  qiiis  legem  dat  amantihus  ?  ipse 
est  sibi  lex  amor  :  the  law  of  love  ;  or,  if  you  will, 
in  the  Apostle's  phrase,  "the  spirit  of  love,  and  of 
power,"  in  opposition  to  the  spirit  of  fear,  doth  more 
influence  the  godly  man  in  his  pursuit  of  God  than 
any  law  without  him  :  this  is  as  a  wing  to  the  soul ; 
whereas  outward  commandments  are  but  as  guides  in 
his  way  ;  or,  at  most,  but  as  spurs  in  his  sides. 


128 

The  same  I  may  say  of  holy  delight  in  God, 
which  is  indeed  the  flower  of  love,  or  love  grown  up 
to  its  full  age  and  stature,  which  hath  no  torment  in 
it,  and  consequently  no  force  upon  it.  Like  unto 
which  are  holy  confidence,  faith  and  hope,  ingenu- 
ous and  natural  acts  of  the  religious  soul,  whereby  it 
hastens  into  the  divine  embraces,  "as  the  eagle 
hasteneth  to  the  prey,"  swiftly  and  speedily,  and  not 
by  force  and  constraint,  "  as  a  fool  to  the  correction 
of  the  stocks,"  or  a  bear  to  the  stake.  These  are 
all  genuine  offsprings  of  holy  religion  in  the  soul, 
and  they  are  utterly  incapable  of  force;  violence  is 
contrary  to  the  nature  of  them  ;  for,  to  use  the 
Apostle's  words,  with  the  change  of  one  word, 
"  Hope  that  is  forced,  is  not  hope." 

Now,  a  little  farther  to  explain  this  excellent  pro- 
perty of  true  religion,  we  may  a  little  consider  the 
author,  and  the  object  of  it. 

The  author  of  this   noble  and  free  principle  is 

God  himself,    who  hath   made  it  a  partaker  of  his 

own  nature,   who  is  the  free  agent ;   himself  is  the 

fountain  of  his  own  acts.      The   uncreated  life  and 

liberty  hath  given  this  privilege  to  the  religious  soul, 

in  some  sense,  to  have  life  and  liberty  in  itself,   and 

a  dominion  over  its  own  acts.      I  do  not  know  that 

any  created  being  in  the  world  hath  more  of  divinity 

in  it  than  the   soul  of  man,    qua  nihil  Jiomini  dedit 

Deus  ipse  diviniiis^  as  Tully  speaks  ;   nor  that  any 

thino-  in  the  soul  doth  more  resemble  the  divine  es- 
o 

sence,  than  the  noble  freedom  that  the  soul  hath  in 
itself;  which  freedom  is  never  so  divine  and  gener- 
ous, as  when  it  is  placed  upon  God  himself.  This 
excellent  freedom  is  something  of  God  in  the  soul  of 


129 

man,  and  therefore  may  justly  claim  the  free  Spirit 
for  its  author,  Psal.  li.  12.  2  Cor.  iii.  IT.  or  the 
Son  of  God  for  its  oricrinal,  accordinop  to  that  in  John 
viii.  36.  "  If  the  Son  shall  make  you  free,  then  shall 
ye  be  free  indeed." 

But  here  it  may  be  demanded,  whether  the  com- 
mand of  God  doth  not  move  the  godly  soul,  and  set 
it  upon  its  holy  motions?  I  confess  indeed  that  the 
command  of  God  is  much  eyed  by  a  godly  man,  and 
is  of  great  weight  with  him,  and  does  in  some  sense 
lay  a  constraint  upon  him  ;  but  yet  I  think  not  so 
much  the  authority  of  the  law,  as  the  reasonableness 
and  goodness  of  it,  does  prevail  principally  with  him. 
The  religious  soul  does  not  so  much  eye  the  law 
under  the  notion  of  a  command,  as  under  the  notion 
of  holy,  just  and  good,  as  the  Apostle  speaks,  and 
so  embraces  it,  chooses  it,  and  longs  to  be  perfectly 
conformable  to  it.  1  do  not  think  it  so  proper  to 
say  that  a  good  man  loves  God,  and  all  righteous- 
ness and  holiness,  and  religious  duties,  by  virtue  of 
a  command  to  do  so,  as  by  virtue  of  a  new  nature 
that  God  hath  put  into  him,  which  doth  instruct 
and  prompt  him  so  to  do.  A  religious  soul  being 
reconciled  to  the  nature  of  God,  embraces  all  his 
laws  by  virtue  of  the  equitableness  and  perfection 
that  he  sees  in  them;  not  because  they  are  com- 
manded, but  because  they  are  in  themselves  to  be 
desired,  as  David  speaks :  "  More  to  be  desired 
are  they  than  gold,  yea,  than  much  fine  gold;  sweeter 
also  than  honey,  and  the  honey-comb."  In  which 
Psalm  the  holy  man  gives  us  a  full  account  why  he 
did  so  love  and  esteem  the  laws  and  commandments 
of  God,   namely,  because  they  are  perfect,   right, 

f3 


130 

pure,  clean,  true,  sweet,  and  lovely.  To  love  the 
Lord  our  God  with  all  our  heart,  and  strength,  and 
mind,  is  not  only  a  duty,  by  virtue  of  that  first 
and  great  commandment  that  doth  require  it;  but 
indeed  the  highest  privilege,  honour,  and  happiness 
of  the  soul.  To  this  purpose  may  that  profession 
of  the  Psalmist's  be  applied,  *'  I  have  chosen  thy 
precepts;" .  and  "  I  have  chosen  the  way  of  truth." 
Choosing  is  an  act  of  judgment  and  understanding, 
and  respects  the  quality  of  the  thing,  more  than  the 
authority  of  the  command.  David  did  not  stumble 
into  the  way  of  truth  accidentally,  by  virtue  of  his 
education,  or  acquaintance,  or  the  like  circumstance; 
nor  was  he  whipped  or  driven  into  it  by  the  mere 
severity  of  a  law  without  him;  but  he  chose  the  way 
of  truth,  as  that  which  was  indeed  most  eligible, 
pleasant,  and  desirable.  What  our  blessed  Saviour 
says  concerning  himself,  is  also  true  of  every  Chris- 
tian in  his  measure;  he  makes  it  his  meat  and  drink 
to  do  tlie  will  of  God.  Now,  we  know  that  men 
do  not  eat  and  drink,  because  physicians  prescribe  it 
as  a  means  to  preserve  life;  but  the  sensual  appetite 
is  carried  out  towards  food,  because  it  is  good,  sweet, 
suitable:  so  is  the  spiritual  appetite  carried  out  to- 
wards spiritual  food,  not  so  much  by  the  force  of  an 
external  precept,  as  by  the  attractive  power  of  that 
higher  i)[oad  which  it  finds  suitable  and  sufficient  for 
it.  As  for  the  object  of  this  free  and  generous 
spirit  of  religion,  it  is  no  other  than  God  himself 
principally  and  ultimately,  and  other  things  only,  as 
they  are  subservient  to  the  enjoyment  of  him.  God, 
as  the  supreme  good,  able  to  fill,  and  perfectly  satisfy 
all  the  wants  and  indigencies  of  the  soul,  and  so  to 


131 

make  it  wholly  and  eternally  happy,  is  the  proper 
object  of  the  soul's  most  free  and  cheerful  motions. 
The  soul  eyes  God  as  the  perfect  and  absolute  good, 
and  God  in  Christ  as  a  feasible  and  attainable  good, 
and  so  finds  every  way  enough  in  this  object,  to  en- 
courage it  to  pursue  after  him,  and  throw  himself 
upon  him.  ReHgion  fixes  upon  God,  as  upon  its 
own  centre,  as  upon  its  proper  and  adequate  object; 
it  views  God  as  the  infinite  and  absolute  good,  and 
so  is  drawn  to  him  without  any  external  force.  The 
godly  soul  is  overpowered  indeed,  but  it  is  only  with 
the  infinite  goodness  of  God,  which  exercises  its 
sovereignty  over  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul ;  which 
overpowering  is  so  far  from  straitening  or  pinching  it, 
that  it  makes  it  truly  free  and  generous-in  its  motions. 
Religion  wings  the  soul,  and  makes  it  take  a  flight 
freely  and  swiftly  towards  God  and  eternal  life :  it 
is  of  God,  and  by  a  sympathy  that  it  hath  with  him, 
it  carries  the  soul  out  after  him,  and  into  conjunc- 
tion with  him.  In  a  word,  the  godly  soul  being 
loosed  from  self-love,  emptied  of  self-fulness,  beaten 
out  of  all  self-satisfaction,  and  delivered  from  all 
self-confining  lusts,  wills,  interests,  and  ends,  and 
being  mightily  overcome  with  a  sense  of  a  higher 
and  more  excellent  good,  goes  after  that  freely, 
centres  upon  it  firmly,  grasps  after  it  continually, 
and  had  rather  be  that,  than  what  itself  is,  as  seeing 
that  the  nature  of  that  supreme  good  is  infinitely 
more  excellent  and  desirable  than  its  own. 

Thus  have  I  briefly  explained  and  confirmed  the 
freeness  of  this  principle  in  the  truly  godly  soul:  I 
would  now  make  some  little  improvement  of  it,  but 
that  it  seems  needful  I  should  here  interweave  a 
cautionary  concession  or  two. 


13^ 

1.  It  must  be  granted,  that  some  things  without 
the  soul  may  be  motives,  in  our  common  sense,  and 
encouragements  to  the  soul  to  quicken,  and  hasten, 
and  strengthen  it  in  its  rehgious  acts.  Though 
grace  be  an  internal  principle,  and  most  free  from 
any  constraint,  yet  it  may  be  excited,  or  stirred  up, 
as  the  Apostle  speaks,  2  Tim.  i.  6.  by  such  means 
as  God  hath  appointed  hereunto,  as  prayer,  medita- 
tion, reading,  administration  of  our  callings,  as  the 
Apostle  intimates  in  the  body  of  that  fore-quoted 
epistle.  But  perhaps  there  will  a  question  arise 
concerning  some  other  things,  which  may  seem  to 
lay  a  constraint  upon  the  spirits  of  men.  I  deny 
not  but  that  the  seemingly  religious  motions  of  many 
men  are  merely  violent,  and  their  devotion  is  purely 
forced  as  we  shall  see  by  and  by:  but  I  affirm,  and 
I  think  have  confirmed  it,  that  true  and  sincere  re- 
ligion is  perfectly  free  and  unconstrained.  This 
being  premised,  now,  if  you  ask  me,  what  I  think 
of  afflictions;  I  confess  God  doth  ordinarily  use  them 
as  means  to  make  good  men  better,  and  it  may  be 
sometimes  to  make  bad  men  good :  these  may  be  as 
weights  to  hasten  and  speed  the  soul's  motions  to- 
wards God,  but  they  do  not  principally  beget  such 
motions.  If  you  ask  me  of  temporal  prosperity, 
commonly  called  mercies  and  blessings,  of  promises 
and  rewards  propounded ;  I  confess  they  may  be  as 
oil  to  the  wheels,  and  ought  to  quicken  and  encourage 
to  the  study  of  true  and  powerful  godliness;  but  they 
are  not  the  spring  of  the  soul's  motions;  they  ought 
to  be  unto  us,  as  dew  upon  the  grass,  to  refresh  and 
fructify  the  soul;  but  it  is  the  root  which  properly 
gives  life  and  growth. 


133 

2.  It  may  be  granted,  that  there  is  a  kind  of 
constraint  and  necessity  lying  upon  the  godly  soul, 
in  its  holy  and  most  excellent  motions  ;  according  to 
that  of  the  Apostle,  "  The  love  of  Christ  constrain- 
eth  us ;"  and  again,  "  Necessity  is  laid  upon  me  to 
preach  the  gospel.'^  But  yet  it  holds  good,  that 
grace  is  a  most  free  principle  in  the  soul,  and  that 
where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty. 
For  the  constraint  that  the  Apostle  speaks  of  is  not 
opposed  to  freedom  of  soul,  but  to  not  acting;  now, 
although  the  soul,  so  principled  and  spirited,  cannot 
but  act,  yet  it  acts  freely.  Those  things  that  are 
according  to  nature,  though  they  be  done  necessari- 
ly, yet  are  they  done  with  the  greatest  freedom 
imaginable.  The  water  flows,  and  the  fire  burns 
necessarily,  yet  freely.  Religion  is  a  new  nature 
in  the  soul ;  and  the  religious  soul  being  touched 
effectually  with  the  sense,  and  impressed  with  the 
influences  of  divine  goodness,  fulness,  and  perfection, 
is  carried  indeed  necessarily  towards  God,  as  its  pro- 
per centre,  and  yet  its  motions  are  pure,  free,  gener- 
ous, and  with  the  greatest  delight  and  pleasure  con- 
ceivable. The  necessity  that  lay  upon  Paul  to 
preach  the  gospel,  is  not  to  be  understood  of  any 
external  violence  that  was  done  to  him,  much  less  of 
bodily  necessity,  by  reason  of  which  many  men  serve 
their  own  bellies  in  that  great  function,  more  than 
the  Lord  Jesus  ;  for  though  he  preached  the  gospel 
necessarily,  yet  did  he  preach  freely  and  willingly,  as 
he  oft  professeth.  The  godly  soul  cannot  but  love 
God  as  his  chiefest  good,  yet  he  delights  in  this  ne- 
cessity, under  which  he  lieth,  and  is  exceeding  glad 
that  he  finds  his  heart  framed  and  enlarged  to  love 


134 

him.  I  say  enlarged,  because  God  is  such  an  ob- 
ject, as  does  not  contract,  and  pinch,  and  straiten  the 
soul,  as  all  created  objects  do,  but  ennoble,  ampliate, 
and  enlarge  it.  The  sinful  soul,  the  more  it  lets  out, 
and  lays  out,  and  spends  itselfupon  the  creature,  the 
more  it  is  straitened  and  contracted,  and  the  native 
freedom  of  it  is  enslaved,  debased,  and  destroyed  : 
but  grace  does  establish  and  ennoble  the  freedom  of 
the  soul,  and  restore  it  to  its  primitive  perfection  :  so 
that  a  godly  soul  is  never  more  large,  more  at  rest, 
more  at  liberty,  than  when  it  finds  itself  delivered 
from  all  self-confining  creature-loves  and  lusts,  and 
under  the  most  powerful  influences  and  constraint  of 
infinite  love  and  goodness. 

By  this  that  hath  been  said  of  the  free  and  gener- 
ous spirit  of  true  religion,  we  may  learn  what  to 
think  of  the  forced  devotion  of  many  pressed  soldiers 
of  Christ  in  his  church  militant ;  that  there  is  a  vast 
difference  and  distance  between  the  pressed,  and  the 
impressed  Christian.  Though  indeed  the  freedom 
of  the  will  cannot  be  destroyed,  yet,  in  opposition 
to  a  principle,  many  men's  devotion  may  be  said  to 
be  wrung  out  of  them,  and  their  obedience  may  be 
said  to  be  constrained.  I  shall  explain  it  briefly  in 
two  or  three  particulars. 

1.  Men  force  themselves,  many  times,  to  some 
things  in  religion,  that  are  besides,  yea,  and  against, 
their  nature  and  genius.  I  need  not  instance  in  an 
overly  conformity  to  the  letter  of  the  law,  and  some 
external  duties  which  they  force  themselves  to  per- 
form, as  to  hear,  pray,  to  give  alms,  or  the  like  :  in 
all  which  the  violent  and  unnatural  obedience  of  the 
Pharisee  may  be  more  popular  and  specious,  than 


135 

the  true  and  genuine  obedience  of  a  free-born   dis- 
ciple of  Jesus   Christ.      If  going  on   hunting,    and 
catching  of  venison   Piigbt  denominate  a  good  and 
dutiful  son,  Esau  may  indeed  be  as  acceptable  to  his 
father  as  Jacob  ;   but   God   is  not  such   a  father  as 
Isaac,  whose  affections  were  bribed  with  fat  morsels, 
he   feeds   not   upon    the   pains  of  his   children,  nor 
drinks  the  sweat  of  their  brows.      I  doubt  not  but 
that  an  unprincipled   Christian,   that  hath   the  heart 
of  a  slave,  may  also  force  himself  to  imitate  the  more 
spiritual  part  of  religion,  and,  as  it  were,  to  act  over 
the  very  temper  and   disposition  of  a   son  of  God. 
Therefore  we  read  of  a  semblance  of  joy  and  zeal, 
which  was  found  in  some,    whom  yet  our  Saviour 
reckons  no   better  than    "  stony  ground  ;"    and   of 
great  ecstacies  in  some,  whom  yet  the  Apostle  sup- 
poses may  come  to  nothing,   Heb.  vi.  and  what  ap- 
pearance of  the  most  excellent  and  divine  graces   of 
patience,  and   contempt  of  the  world,    many  of  the 
sourer  sort  of  monastical   Papists,   and  our  mongrel 
breed  of  Papists,  the  Quakers,  do  make  at  this  day, 
all  men  know  :   nay,  some  of  these  last  sort  do  seem 
to  themselves,  I  believe,   to  act  over  the  temper  and 
experiences  of  the  chiefest  Apostles,  rejoicing  with 
Peter,  and  the  rest,  that  they  are  "  counted  worthy 
to  suffer  shame,"  and  keeping  a  catalogue  of  their 
stripes  with  Paul ;  and  in  these  things,  I  am  confi- 
dent, to  use  the  Apostle's  words,  that  they  think 
themselves   "  not  a  whit  behind    the    very   chiefest 
Apostles  :"  nay,   they  are  not  ashamed  to  lay  claim 
to  that  grace  of  graces,  self-denial,  which  they  have 
forced  themselves  to  act  over  so  artificially,  that  even 
a  wise  man  might  almost  be  deceived  into  a  favour- 


136 

able  opinion  of  them,  but  that  we  know  that  whilst 
they  profess  it,  they  destroy  it  ;  for  it  is  contrary  to 
the  nature  of  self-denial,  to  magnify  and  boast  itself: 
and  indeed  it  is  very  evident  to  a  wise  observer,  that 
these  men,  by  a  pretence  of  voluntary  humility,  and 
counterfeit  self-denial,  do,  in  truth,  endeavour  most 
of  all  to  establish,  their  own  righteousness,  and  erect 
an  idol  of  self-supremacy  in  themselves,  and  do  really 
fall  in  love  with  an  avrapzsioc^  or  self-sufficiency,  in- 
stead of  the  infinite  fulness  of  God. 

Now,  there  seem  to  be  three  things  in  a  formal 
hypocrite,  that  do  especially  force  a  kind  of  devotion, 
and"  show  of  religion  from  him,  namely,  conscience 
of  guilt,  self-love,  and  false  apprehensions  of  God. 
First,  There  is  in  all  men  a  natural  conscience  of 
guilt,  arising  from  that  imperfect  and  glimmering 
light  they  have  of  God,  and  of  their  duty  towards 
him  ;  which,  though  it  be  in  some  men  more  quick 
and  stinging,  in  others  more  remiss  and  languid,  yea, 
I  think,  is  not  utterly  choked  and  extinguished,  no, 
not  in  the  worst  and  most  dissolute  men,  but  that  it 
sometimes  begets  a  bitter  sadness  in  the  midst  of 
their  sweetest  merriments,  and  disturbs  their  most 
supine  and  secure  rest,  by  fastening  its  stings  in  their 
very  souls  at  some  time  or  other,  and  filling  them 
with  agonies  and  anguish,  and  haunting  them  with 
dreadful  apparitions,  which  they  cannot  be  perfectly 
rid  of,  no  more  than  they  can  run  away  from  them- 
selves. This  foundation  of  hell  is  laid  in  the  bowels 
of  sin  itself,  as  a  preface  of  eternal  horror.  Now, 
although  some  more  profligate  and  desperate  wretches 
do  furiously  bluster  through  these  briars,  yet  others 
are  so  caught  in  them,  that  they  cannot  escape  these 


137 

pangs  and  throes,  except  they  make  a  composition, 
and  enter  into  terms  to  live  more  honestly,  or,  at 
least,  less  scandalously.  In  which  undertaking, 
they  are  carried  on,  in  the  next  place,  by  the  power 
of  self-love,  or  a  natural  desire  of  self-preservation  : 
for  the  worst  of  men  hath  so  much  reason  left  him, 
that  he  could  wish  that  himself  were  happy,  though 
he  have  not  so  much  light  as  to  discover,  nor  so 
much  true  freedom  of  will  as  to  choose,  the  right 
way  of  happiness.  Conscience  having  discovered 
the  certain  reward  and  wages  of  sin,  self-love  will 
easily  prompt  men  to  do  something  or  other  to 
escape  it.  But  now,  what  shall  they  do  ?  why,  re- 
ligion is  the  only  expedient  that  can  be  found  out; 
and  therefore  they  begin  to  think  how  they  may  be- 
come friends  with  God  ;  they  will  up  and  be  doing. 
But  how  come  they  to  run  into  so  great  a  mistake 
about  religion  ?  why,  their  false  and  gross  appre- 
hensions of  God  drive  them  from  him,  in  the 
way  of  superstition  and  hypocrisy,  instead  of  leading 
them  in  the  way  of  sincere  love,  and  self-resignation 
to  him.  Self  being  the  great  Diana  of  every  na- 
tural man,  and  the  only  standard  by  which  he  mea- 
sures all  things,  he  knows  not  how  to  judge  of  God 
himself,  but  by  this;  and  so  he  comes  to  fancy  God 
in  a  dreadful  manner,  as  an  austere,  passionate, 
surly,  revengeful  majesty ;  and  so  something  must 
be  done  to  appease  him  :  but  yet  he  fancies  this 
angry  deity  to  be  of  an  impotent,  mercenary  temper 
like  himself,  and  not  hard  to  be  appeased  neither  ; 
and  so  imagines  that  some  cheap  services,  specious 
oblations,  external  courtesies,  will  engage  him,  and 
make  him  a  friend ;  a  sheep,  or  a  goat,  or  a  bullock. 


138 

under  the  Old  Testament ;  a  prayer,  or  a  sacrament, 
or  an  alms,  under  the  New  :  for  it  is  reconcihation 
to  an  angry  God  that  he  aims  at,  not  union  with  a 
good  God  ;  he  seeks  to  be  reconciled  to  God,  not 
united  to  him,  though  indeed  these  two  can  never 
be  divided.  Thus  we  see  how  a  man,  void  of  the 
life  and  spirit  of  religion,  yet  forces  himself  to  do 
God  a  kind  of  worship,  and  pay  him  a  kind  of 
homage. 

2.  Sometimes  men  may  be  said,  in  a  sense,  to  be 
forced  by  other  men  to  put  on  a  vizard  of  holiness, 
,  a  ilress  of  religion.  And  this  constraint  men  may  lay 
upon  men  by  their  tongues,  hands,  and  eyes.  By 
their  tongue^,,  in  the  business  of  education,  often 
and  ardent  exliortation  and  inculcation  of  things  di- 
vine and  heavenly  :  and  thus  an  unjust  man,  like  the 
unjust  judge  in  the  gospel,  though  he  fear  not  God 
sincerely,  yet  may  be  overcome  by  the  importunity 
of  his  father,  friend,  minister,  tutor,  to  do  some 
righteous  acts.  This  seems  to  have  been  the  case 
of  Jehoash,  king  of  Judah,  the  spring-head  of  whose 
religion  was  no  higher  than  the  instructions  of 
his  tutor  and  guardian  Jehoiada,  the  high-priest, 
2  Kings  xii.  2.  By  their  hands  ;  that  is,  either  by 
the  enacting  and  executing  of  penal  laws  upon  them, 
or  by  the  holy  example  which  they  continually  set 
before  them.  By  their  eyes  ;  that  is,  by  continual 
observing  and  watching  their  behaviour ;  when  many 
eyes  are  upon  men,  they  must  do  something  to  satis- 
fy expectations  of  others,  and  purchase  a  reputation 
to  themselves.  It  may  be  said  that  sometimes  God 
doth  lay  an  external  force  upon  men  ;  as  particularly 
by  his  severe  judgments,  or  threatenings  of  judg- 


139 

ments  awakening  them,  humbling  them,  and  con- 
straining them  to  some  kind  of  worship  and  religion. 
Such  a  forced  devotion  as  this  was  the  humiliation  of 
Ahab,  I  Kings  xxi.  and  the  supplication  of  Saul,  1 
Sara.  xiii.  11,  12.  For  God  himself  acting  uponm.en, 
only  from  without  them,  is  far  from  producing  a  liv- 
ing principle  of  free  and  noble  religion  in  the  soul. 
Now,  the  better  to  discern  this  forced  and  violent 
religion,  1  will  briefly  describe  it  by  three  or  four  of 
its  properties,  with  wliich  I  will  shut  up  this  point. 

1.   This  forced  religion  is,  for  the  most  part,  dry 
and  spiritless.      I  know,   indeed,   that  fancy  may  be 
screwed  up  to  ahigh  pitch  of  joy  and  frolicksomeness, 
so  as  to  raise  the  mind  into  a  kind  of  rapture,  as  I  have 
formerly  hinted  in  my  discourse  upon   these  words. 
A  mere  artificial  and  counterfeit  Christian  may  be  so 
strongly  acted  by  imagination,  and  the  power  of  self- 
love,   that  he  may  seem  to  himself  to  be  fuller  of 
God  than  the  sober  and  constant  soul.    You  may  see 
how  the  hypocritical  Pharisees,  swollen   with   self- 
conceit,   gloried   over  the  poor  man  that  had  been 
blind,   but  now   saw  more  than   all  they :   "  Thou 
wast  altogether  born  in  sin,  and  dost  thou  teach  us?" 
And,  indeed,  over  the  whole  people :   "  This  people 
that  knoweth  not  the  law  is  cursed."     A  counterfeit 
Christian  may  rise  high  as  a  meteor,  and  blaze  much 
as  a  comet,  which  is  yet  drawn  up,  by  mere  force, 
from  the  surface  of  the  earth  or  water.      And  as  to 
the  external  and  visible  acts  and  duties  of  religion, 
which  depend  much  upon  the  temper  and  constitution 
of  the   body,    it  may   easily  be   conceived   and  ac- 
counted, how  the  mimical  and  mechanical  Christian 
may  rise  higher  than  these,  and  be  more  zealous. 


140 

watchful,  and  cheerful,  than  many  truly  religious  and 
godly  men,  as  having  greater  power  and  quickness  of 
fancy,  and  a  greater  number  of  animal  spirits,  upon 
which  the  motions  and  actions  of  the  body  do  mainly 
depend.  The  animal  spirits  may  so  nimbly  serve 
the  soul  in  these  corporal  acts,  that  the  whole  trans- 
action may  be  a  fair  imitation  of  the  motions  of  the 
divine  Spirit,  and  one  would  verily  think  there  were  a 
gracious  principle  in  the  soul  itself.  This  seems  to  be 
notably  exemplified  in  Captain  Jehu,  whose  religious 
actions,  as  he  would  fain  have  them  to  be  esteemed, 
2  Kings  X.  16.  were  indeed  rather  fury  than  zeal, 
and  proceeded  more  from  his  own  fiery  spirits,  than 
from  that  spirit  of  fire,  or  spirit  of  burning,  which  is  of 
God,  Isa.  iv.  4.  But  commonly  this  forced  devotion 
is  jejune  and  dry,  void  of  zeal  and  warmth,  drives  on 
heavily  in  pursuit  of  the  God  of  Israel,  as  Pharaoh 
did  in  pursuit  of  the  Israel  of  God,  when  his  chariot- 
wheels  were  taken  off.  God's  drawing  the  soul  from 
within,  as  a  principle,  doth  indeed  cause  that  soul  to 
run  after  him;  but  you  know  the  motion  of  those 
things  that  are  drawn  by  external  force  is  commonly 
»heavy,  slow,  and  languid. 

2.  This  forced  religion  is  penurious  and  needy. 
Something  the  slavish-spirited  Christian  must  do,  to 
appease  an  angry  God,  or  to  allay  a  storming  con- 
science, as  I  hinted  before  ;  but  it  shall  be  as  little 
as  may  be.  He  is  ready  to  grudge  God  so  much 
of  his  time  and  strength,  and  find  fault  that  Sabbaths 
come  so  thick,  and  last  so  long,  and  that  duties  are 
to  be  performed  so  often;  so  he  is  described  by  the 
prophet;  "  When  will  the  Sabbath  be  past,  and  the 
new  moon  gone  ?"      But  yet  I  will  not  deny,  but 


141 

that  this  kind  of  religion  may  be  very  liberal  and 
expensive  too,  and  run  out  much  into  the  branches 
of  external  duties,  as  is  the  manner  of  many  trees 
that  bear  no  fruit;  for  so  did  the  base  spirit  of  the 
Pharisees,  whose  often  fasting,  and  long  praying,  is 
recorded  by  our  Saviour  in  the  gospel,  but  not  with 
approbation.  Therefore,  these  are  not  the  things 
by  which  you  must  take  measure,  and  make  estimate 
of  your  religion.  But  in  the  great  things  of  the 
law,  in  the  grand  duties  of  mortification,  self-denial, 
and  resignation;  here  this  forced  religion  is  always 
very  stingy  and  penurious.  In  the  duties  that  do 
nearly  touch  upon  their  beloved  lusts,  they  will  be  as 
strict  with  God  as  may  be ;  they  will  break  with  him 
for  a  small  matter.  God  must  have  no  more  than 
his  due,  as  they  blasphemously  phrase  it  in  their 
hearts;  with  the  slothful  servant  in  the  gospel, 
"  Lo,  there  thou  hast  that  is  thine ;"  self  and  the 
world  sure  may  be  allowed  the  rest.  They  will  not 
part  with  all  for  Christ.  Is  it  not  a  little  one  ?  let 
me  escape  thither,  and  take  up  my  abode  there,  said 
Lot,  Gen.  xix.  They  will  not  give  up  themselves 
entirely  unto  God :  "  The  Lord  pardon  me  in  this 
one  thing,"  cries  Naaman;  so  they,  in  this  or  that, 
let  God  hold  me  excused.  The  slavish-spirited 
Christian  is  never  more  shrunk  up  within  himself, 
than  when  he  is  to  converse  with  God  indeed :  but 
the  godly  soul  is  never  freer,  larger,  gladder,  than 
when  he  doth  most  intimately  and  familiarly  converse 
with  God.  The  soul  that  is  free  as  to  liberty,  is 
free  also  as  to  liberality  and  expenses;  and  that  not 
only  in  external,  but  internal  and  spiritual  obedience, 
and  compliance  with  the  will  of  God:   he  gives  him- 


14^ 

self  wholly  up  to  God,  knows  no  interest  of  his  own, 
keeps  no  reserve  for  himself,  or  for  the  creature. 

3.  This  forced  religion  is  uneven,  as  depending 
upon  inconstant  causes.  As  land-floods,  that  have 
no  spring  within  themselves,  vary  their  motions, — 
are  swift  and  slow,  high  and  low,  according  as  they 
are  supplied  with  rain, — even  so  these  men's  mo- 
tions in  religion,  depending  upon  fancy  for  the  most 
part,  than  which  nothing  is  more  fickle  and  flitting, 
have  no  constancy  nor  consistency  in  them.  I  know, 
indeed,  that  the  spirits  of  the  best  men  cannot  al- 
ways keep  one  pace,  nor  their  lives  be  always  of  one 
piece;  but  yet  they  are  never  willingly  quite  out  of 
the  call  or  compass  of  religion.  But  this  I  also 
touched  upon  formerly.      Therefore, 

4.  This  forced  religion  is  not  permanent.  The 
meteors  will  down  again,  and  be  choked  in  the 
earth,  whence  they  arose.  Take  away  the  weight, 
and  the  motion  ceases ;  take  away  Jehoiada,  and 
Jehoash  stands  still,  yea,  runs  backward.  But  this 
I  shall  speak  more  to,  when  I  come  to  speak  of  the 
last  property  of  religion, — namely,  its  perseverance. 


143 


CHAPTER  IV. 

The  active  and  vigorous  jiature  of  true  religioji  proved  by 
many  scriptural  phrases  of  the  most  povoerful  impor- 
tance ;    more  'particularly  explained  in  three  things ; 

1.  In  the  souVs  continual  care  and  study  to  be  good. 

2.  In  its  care  to  do  good.     3.  In  its  powerful  and  in- 
cessant longings  after  the  most  full  enjoyment  of  God. 

I  COME  now  to  the  second  property  of  true  religion, 
which  is  to  be  found  in  this  phrase,  "  springing  up,'* 
or  leaping  up;  wherein  the  activity  and  vigorousness 
of  it  is  described.  Rehgion,  though  it  be  compared 
to  water,  yet  is  no  standing  pool  of  water,  but  a 
"  well  of  water  springing  up."  And  here  the  pro- 
position that  I  shall  establish,  is,  "  That  true  religion 
is  active  and  vigorous."  It  is  no  lazy  and  languid 
thing,  but  full  of  life  and  power:  so  I  find  it  every 
where  described  in  Scripture,  by  things  that  are 
most  active,  lively,  vigorous,  operative,  spreading, 
powerful,  and  sometimes  even  by  motion  itself.  As 
sin  is,  in  Scripture,  described  by  death  and  darkness, 
which  are  a  cessation  and  privation  of  life,  and  light, 
and  motion ;  so  religion  is  described  by  life,  which 
is  active  and  vigorous ;  by  an  angelical  life,  which  is 
spiritual  and  powerful ;  yea  a  divine  life,  which  is, 
as  I  may  say,  most  lively  and  vivacious.  *'  Christ 
liveth  in  me,"  and  the  production  of  this  new  nature 
in  the  soul  is  called  a  quickening,  "  And  you  hath 
he  quickened,  who  were  dead  in  trespasses  and  sins;" 
and  the  reception  of  it,  a  "  passing  from  death  unto 
life."     Again,  as  sin  and  wickedness  is  described  by 


144 

Jlesh^  which  is  sluggish  and  inactive,  so  this  holy 
principle  in  the  soul  is  called  spirit — "  The  Spirit 
lusteth  against  the  flesh  ;"  yea,  **  the  Spirit  of 
power,"  and  the  *'  Spirit  of  life," — "the  law  of  the 
Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  me  free 
from  the  law  of  sin  and  death."  How  can  the 
power  and  activity  of  any  principle  be  more  com- 
mended than  by  saying  it  is  life,  and  the  Spirit  of 
life,  and  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  the  soul  ? 
which  hath  made  me  sometimes  to  apply  those  words 
of  the  prophet,  as  a  description  of  every  godly  soul, 
"  I  am  full  of  power  and  might  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord." 

Yea,  further,  the  holy  Apostle  seems  to  describe 
a  godly  principle  in  the  soul  by  activity  and  motion 
itself,  where  he  gives  this  excellent  character  of 
himself,  and  this  lively  description  of  his  religious 
disposition,  as  if  it  were  nothing  else  but  activity 
and  fervour;  "  I  follow  after,  that  I  may  apprehend; 
1  forget  those  things  that  are  behind,  and  reach 
forth  unto  those  things  that  are  before  ;  I  press  to- 
wards the  mark,"  &c.  It  were  too  much  to  com- 
ment upon  those  phrases  of  like  importance,  labour- 
ing, seeking,  striving,  fighting,  running,  wrestling, 
panting,  longing,  hungering,  thirsting,  watching,  and 
many  others,  which  the  Holy  Ghost  makes  use  of, 
in  the  Scriptures,  to  express  the  active,  industrious, 
vigorous,  diligent,  and  powerful  nature  of  this  divine 
principle,  which  God  hath  put  into  the  souls  of  his 
elect.  The  streams  of  divine  grace,  which  flow 
forth  from  the  throne  of  God,  and  of  the  Lamb, 
into  tile  souls  of  men,  do  not  cleanse  them,  and  so 
pass  away,   like  some  violent  land-flood,  that  washes 


145 

the  fields  and  meadows,  and  so  leaves  them  to  con- 
tract as  much  filth  as  ever  :  but  the  same  becomes 
a  "well  of  water,"  continually  springing  up,  boiling, 
and  bubbling,  and  working  in  the  soul,  and  sending 
out  fresh  rivers,  as  our  Saviour  calls  them  :  "  Out  of 
his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water." 

But,  more  particularly,  to  unfold  the  active  nature 
of  this  divine  principle  in  the  soul,  we  shall  consider 
it  in  these  three  particulars,  namely,  as  it  is  still  con- 
forming to  God,  doing  for  him,  and  longing  after 
him. 

1.  The  active  and  sprightly  nature  of  true  god- 
liness, or  religion  planted  by  God  in  the  soul,  shows 
itself,  in  a  continued  care  and  study  to  be  good,  to 
conform  more  and  more  to  the  nature  of  the  blessed 
God,  the  glorious  pattern  of  all  perfection.  The 
nature  of  God  being  infinitely  and  absolutely  per- 
fect, is  the  only  rule  of  perfection  to  the  creature. 
If  we  speak  of  goodness,  our  Saviour  tells  us,  that 
God  alone  is  good,  Luke  xviii.  19.  of  wisdom,  the 
Apostle  tells  us,  that  God  is  only  wise,  1  Tim.  i.  17. 
of  power,  he  is  omnipotent,  Rev.  xix.  6.  of  mercy 
and  kindness,  he  is  love  itself,  1  John  iv.  8.  Men 
are  only  good  by  way  of  participation  from  God, 
and  in  a  way  of  assimilation  to  him :  so  that,  though 
good  men  may  be  imitated,  and  followed,  yet  it  must 
be  with  this  limitation,  as  far  as  they  are  followers 
of  God :  the  great  Apostle  durst  not  press  his  ex- 
ample any  further,  "  Be  ye  followers  of  me,  even  as 
I  also  am  of  Christ."  But  the  nature  of  God  being 
infinitely  and  absolutely  perfect,  is  to  be  eyed  and 
imitated  singly,  entirely,  universally,  in  all  things 
wherein  the  creature  is  capable  of  following  him,  and 

G  28 


146 

becoming  like  unto  him.  So  Christians  are  required 
to  look  up  unto  the  Father  of  lights,  the  fountain 
of  all  perfections,  and  to  take  from  him  the  pattern 
of  their  dispositions  and  conversations,  to  eye  him 
continually}  and,  eyeing  him,  to  derive  an  image  of 
him,  not  into  their  eye,  as  we  do  by  sensible  objects, 
but  into  their  souls,  to  polish  and  frame  them  into 
the  most  clear  and  lively  resemblances  of  him  ;  that 
is,  in  the  language  of  Scripture,  ta  be  "  perfect,  as 
their  heavenly  Father  is  perfect,"  to  be  "  holy  as 
God  is  holy."  And  thus  the  genuine  children  O'f 
God  are  described  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  they  are 
"  followers  of  God."  This  is  the  shortest,  but  the 
surest  and  clearest  mark  that  can  be  given  of  a  good 
man,  "a  follower  of  God."  They  are  not  owned  for 
the  children  of  God,  who  are  created  by  him,  nor 
they  who  have  a  notional  knowledge  of  him,  who 
profess  him,  or  exhibit  some  external  worship  and 
service  to  him  in  the  world,  but  they  that  imitate 
him  :  the  true  children  of  Abraham  were  not  those 
that  were  descended  from  him,  or  boasted  of  him, 
but  they  that  did  the  works  of  Abraham,  John  viii. 
39.  even  so  are  they  only  the  offspring  of  heaven, 
the  true  and  dear  children  of  the  living  God,  who 
are  followers  of  him  ;  "  be  ye  followers  of  God  as 
dear  children."  A  godly  soul  having  its  eyes  opened, 
to  behold  the  infinite  beauty,  purity,  and  perfection, 
of  that  good  God,  whose  nature  is  the  very  fountain, 
and  must,  therefore,  be  the  rule  of  all  goodness,  pre- 
sently comes  to  undervalue  all  created  excellencies, 
both  in  itself,  and  all  the  world  besides,  as  to  any 
satisfaction  that  is  to  be  had  in  them,  or  any  perfec- 
tion that  can  be  acquired  by  them,  and  cannot  emlure 


147 

to  take  up  with  any  lower  good,  or  live  by  any  lower 
rule  than  God  himself.      A  godly  man,  having  the 
unclean  and  rebellious  spirit  cast  out,  and  being  once 
reconciled  to  the  nature  of  God,  is  daily  labouring 
to  be  more  intimately  united  thereunto,  and  to  be  all 
that  God  is,   as  far  as  he  is  capable, — the  nature  of 
God  being   infinitely   more  pure   and  perfect,   and 
more  desirable  than  his  own.      ReJigion  is  a  parti- 
cipation of  life  from  him,  who  is  life  itself,  and  so 
must  needs  be  an  active  principle,  spreading  itself  in 
the   soul,   and   causing  the  soul  to  spread   itself  in 
God:  and,  therefore,  the  kingdom  of  heaven,  which, 
in  many  places  of  the  gospel,   I  take  to  be  nothing 
else  but  this  divine  principle  in  the  soul,  which  is 
both  the  truest  heaven,  and  most  properly  a  kingdom 
(for  thereby   God  doth  most  powerfully  reign  and 
exercise  his  sovereignty,  and  most  excellently  display 
and  manifest  his  glory  in  the  world)  is  compared  to 
"  seed  sown  in  good  ground,"  which  both  springeth 
up  into  a  blade,  and  bringeth  forth  fruit ;  to  mustard- 
seed,  which  spreadeth  itself,  and  groweth  great,  so 
that  the  birds  of  the  air  may  lodge  in  the  branches 
thereof;    to   leaven,    spreading   itself  through    the 
whole  quantity  of  meal,  and  leavening  the  whole,  and 
all  the  parts  of  it.      By  a  like  similitude,  the  path 
of  the  just  is  compared  to   a  shining  light,  whose 
glory  and   lustre   increaseth   continually,    "  shining 
more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day;"  which   con- 
tinual growing  up  of  the  holy  soul  into  God,  is  ex- 
cellently   described   by  the  Apostle,  in   an    elegant 
metaphor,   "  We  all,  with  open  face,  beholding  as 
in  a  glass  the  glory  of  the  Lord,   are  changed  into 
the  same  image,  from  glory  to  glory;"  that  is,  from 

G  2 


148 

one  resemblance  of  divine  glory  to  another.      The 
gracious  soul  not  being  contented  with  its  present 
attainments,  and  having  in  its  eye  a  perfect  and  abso- 
lute good,  forgets  that  which  is  behind,  and  labours, 
prays,  strives,  and  studies,   to  get  the  perfections  of 
God  more  clearly  copied  out  upon  itself,   and  itself, 
as  much  as  may  be,   swallowed  up  in  the  Divinity. 
It  covets  earnestly  these  best  things,  to  be  perfected 
in  grace  and  holiness,  to  have  divine  characters  more 
fair  and  legible,  divine  impressions  more  deep  and 
lively,  divine  life  more  strong  and  powerful,  and  the 
communicable  image  of  the  blessed  God  spread  quite 
over  it,   and  through  it.      A  godly  soul  is  not  con- 
tent to  receive  of  Christ's  fulness,  but  labours  to  be 
filled  with  the  fulness,  with  all   the  fulness  of  God; 
he  rejoices,  indeed,  that  he  hath  received  of  Christ 
grace  for  grace,   as  a  child  hath  limb  for  limb   with 
his  father;   but  this  his  joy  is  not  fulfilled,  except 
he  find  himself  adding  daily  some  cubits  to  his  infant- 
stature  ;  nor  indeed  then  neither,  nor  can  it  be,  until 
lie  come  to  the  measure  of  the  stature  of  his  Lord, 
and  be  grown  up  unto  him  in  all  things,  who  is  the 
head,  even  Christ.    He  delights  and  glories  in  God, 
beholding  his  spices  growing  in  his  soul;   but  that 
does  not  satisfy  him,  except  he  may  see  them  flowing 
out  also.      He  is  neither  barren  nor  unfruitful,   as 
the  Apostle  Peter  speaks  ;  but  that  is  not  enough, 
he  desires  to  be  fat  and  fruitful  also,  as  a  watered 
garden,   as  the  Prophet  expresseth  it,  even  as   the 
garden    of  God.      The    Spirit    lusteth   against  the 
flesh,  and  struggles  with  it  in  the  same  womb  of  the 
soul,    as  Jacob  with   Esau,  until  he  had   cast   him 
out.      The  seed  of  God  warreth  continually  against 


149 

the  seed   of  the  serpent,  raging  and  restless,  like 
Jehu,  shooting,  and  stabbing,   and  strangHng  all  he 
meets  with,  till  none  at  all  remain  of  the  family  of 
that  Ahab,  who  had  formerly  been  his  master.     Oh 
how  does  the  godly  and  devout  soul  long  to   have 
Christ's  victory  carried  on  in  itself,   to  have  Christ 
going  on  in  him   conquering  and  to  conquer,   till  at 
length  the  very  last  enemy  be  subdued ;   that  the 
Prince  of  peace  may  ride  triumphantly  through  all 
the  coasts  and  regions  of  his  heart  and  life,   and  not 
so   much  as  a  dog  move  his  tongue  against  him  ! 
This   holy  principle  which  is  of  God  in  the  soul,  is 
actually  industrious  too;   it  doth   not  fold  the  arras 
together,  hide  its  hand  in  its  bosom,  faintly  wishing 
to  obtain  a  final   conquest  over  its  enemies,  but  ad- 
vances itself  with  a  noble  stoutness  against  lusts  and 
passions,   even  as  the  sun  glorieth  against  the  dark- 
ness of  the  night,   until  it  hath  chased  it  all   away. 
The  godly  soul  puts  itself  under  the  banner  of  Christ, 
fights  under  the  conduct  of  the  angel  of  God's  pre- 
sence, and  so  marches  up  undauntedly  against  the 
children  of  Anak,   those  earthly  loves,  lusts,  sensual 
affections,  which  are  indeed  taller  and  stronger  than 
all  other  enemies  that  encounter  it  in  this  wilderness 
state  :  and  the  gracious  God  is  not  wanting  to  such 
endeavours,  he   "  remembering  his  promise,  helpeth 
his  servants,"  even  that  promise,   that   "  they  that 
wait  upon  the  Lord  shall  renew  their  strength."     A 
true  Israelitish  soul,  impregnated  with  this  noble  and 
heroic  principle,  is  not  like  those  slothful  Israelites, 
that  were   content  with  what   they  had  got  of  the 
holy  land,  and  either  could  not,   or  cared  not  to  en- 
large their  border.      But  he  makes  war  upon  the 


150 

remainder  of  the  Canaanites,  and  is  never  at  rest  till 
he  have,  with  Sarah,  cast  out  the  bond-woman  and 
her  son  too.  You  may  see  an  emblem  of  such  a 
soul  in  Moses  holding  up  his  hands  all  the  day 
long,  till  Amalek  was  quite  discomfited,  Exod.  xvii. 
As  oft  as  the  floods  of  temptation,  springing  from 
the  devil,  the  world,  or  the  flesh,  do  offer  to  come 
in  upon  him,  he  opposeth  them  in  the  strength  of 
Christ ;  or,  if  you  will,  in  the  prophet's  phrase, 
"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  lifteth  up  a  standard 
against  them  ;"  so  that  he  is  not  carried  down  by 
them,  or,  at  least,  not  overwhelmed  with  them.  In 
the  beginning  of  my  discourse  upon  this  head,  I 
hinted  to  you  the  reason  why  the  godly  soul  con- 
tinually studies  conformity  to  God,  even  because  he 
is  the  perfect  and  absolute  good,  and  the  soul  reckons 
that  its  happiness  consists  only  in  being  like  unto 
him,  in  partaking  of  a  divine  nature.  But  I  might 
also  here  take  occasion  to  speak  of  three  things, 
which  I  will  but  briefly  name,  and  so  pass  on. 

1st,  A  godly  man  reckons  with  himself,  that  con- 
formity to  the  image  and  nature  of  God,  is  the  most 
proper  conversing  with  God  in  the  world.  The 
great,  and  indeed  only  employment  of  an  immortal 
soul,  is  to  converse  with  its  Creator;  for  this  end  it 
was  made,  and  made  so  capacious  as  we  see  it:  now, 
to  partake  of  a  divine  nature,  to  be  endued  with  a 
God-like  disposition,  is  most  properly  to  converse 
with  God;  this  is  a  real,  powerful,  practical,  and 
feeling  converse  with  him,  infinitely  to  be  preferred 
before  all  notions,  professions,  performances,  or  spe- 
culations. 

2dly,   A  godly  man  reckons  that   the  image  of 


151 

God  is  the  glory  and  ornament  of  the  soul;  it  is  the 
lustre,  and  brightness,  and  beauty  of  the  soul,  as 
the  soul  is  of  the  body.  Holiness  is  not  only  the 
duty,  but  the  highest  honour  and  dignity  that  any 
created  nature  is  capable  of:  and,  therefore,  the 
godly  soul,  who  hath  his  senses  exercised  to  discern 
good  and  evii,  pursues  after  it,  as  after  his  full  and 
proper  perfection. 

3dly,  A  godly  man  reckons,  that  conformity  to 
the  divine  image,  participation  of  the  divine  nature, 
is  the  surest  and  most  comfortable  evidence  of  di- 
vine love,  which  is  a  matter  of  so  great  inquiry  in 
the  world.  By  growing  up  daily  in  Christ  Jesus, 
we  are  infallibly  assured  of  our  implantation  into 
him.  The  Spirit  of  God  descending  upon  the  soul 
in  the  impressions  of  meekness,  kindness,  upright- 
ness, which  is  a  dove-like  disposition,  is  a  better, 
and  more  desirable  evidence  of  our  sonship,  and 
God's  favour  towards  us,  than  if  we  had  the  Spirit 
descending  upon  our  heads  in  a  dove-like  shape,  as 
it  did  upon  our  blessed  Saviour.  These  are  the 
reasons,  why  the  religious  Christian,  above  all 
things,  labours  to  become  God-like,  to  be  formed 
more  and  more  into  a  resemblance  of  the  supreme 
good,  and  to  drink  in  divine  perfections  into  the 
very  inmost  of  his  soul. 

2.  The  active  and  industrious  nature  of  true  god- 
liness, or  religion,  manifests  itself  in  a  good  man's 
continual  care  and  study  to  do  good,  to  serve  the 
interest  of  the  holy  and  blessed  God  in  the  world. 
A  good  man  being  mastered  with  the  sense  of  the 
infinite  goodness  of  God,  and  the  great  end  of  his 
life,  cannot  think  it  worth  while  to  spend  himself  for 


152 

any  inferior  good,  or  bestow  his  time  and  strength 
for  any  lower  end  than  that  is;  and,  therefore,  as  it 
is  the  main  happiness  of  his  life  to  enjoy  God,  so 
he  makes  it  the  main  business  of  his  life  to  serve 
him, — to  be  doing  for  him,  to  lay  out  himself  for 
him,  and  to  display  and  propagate  his  glory  in  the 
world.  And,  as  he  is  ravished  with  the  apprehen- 
sions of  the  supreme  goodness,  which  doth  infi- 
nitely deserve,  and  may  justly  challenge,  all  that  he 
can  do  or  expend  for  him,  so  he  doth  indeed  really 
partake  of  the  active  and  communicative  nature  of 
that  blessed  being,  and  himself  becomes  active  and 
communicative  too :  a  godly  soul  sluggish  and  inac- 
tive, is  as  if  one  should  say,  a  godly  soul  altogether 
unlike  to  God ;  a  pure  contradiction.  I  cannot 
dwell  upon  any  of  those  particular  designs  of  serving 
the  interest  of  God's  glory,  which  a  good  man  is 
still  driving  on  in  the  world :  only  this,  in  general, 
whether  he  pray,  or  preach,  or  read,  or  celebrate 
Sabbaths,  or  administer  private  reproof  or  instruction, 
or  indeed  plough  or  sow,  eat  or  drink,  all  this  while 
he  lives  not  to  himself,  but  serves  a  higher  interest 
than  that  of  the  flesh,  and  a  higher  good  than  him- 
self, or  any  created  being.  A  true  Christian  acti- 
vity doth  not  only  appear  in  those  things  which  we 
call  duties  of  worship,  or  religious  performances,  but 
in  the  whole  frame  of  the  heart  contriving,  and  the 
conversation  expressing  and  unfolding,  the  glory  of 
God.  A  holy,  serious,  heavenly,  humble,  sober, 
righteous,  and  self-denying  course  of  life,  does  most 
excellently  express  the  divine  glory,  by  imitating 
the  nature  of  God,  and  most  effectually  calls  all  men 
to  the  imitation  of  it;  according  as  our  Saviour  hath 


153 

nakedly  stated  the  case :  "  Hereby  is  my  Father 
glorified,  that  ye  bring  forth  much  fruit."  By  which 
fruits  are  not  to  be  understood  only  preaching,  pray- 
ing, conference,  which  are  indeed  high  and  excellent 
duties;  but  also  righteousness,  temperance,  self- 
denial,  which  things  are  pure  reflections  of  the  di- 
vine image,  and  a  real  glorifying  of  God's  name  and 
perfections.  A  good  Christian  cannot  be  content 
to  be  happy  alone,  to  be  still  drawing  down  hea- 
ven into  his  own  soul ;  but  he  endeavours  also,  by 
prayer,  counsel,  and  holy  example,  to  draw  up  the 
souls  of  other  men  heaven-ward.  This  God  wit- 
nesseth  of  Abraham :  "  I  know  him,  that  he  will 
command  his  children,  and  his  household  after  him, 
and  they  shall  keep  the  way  of  the  Lord;"  and 
this  Moses  doth  excellently  witness  of  himself  in 
that  holy  rapture  of  his,  "  Would  God  that  all  the 
Lord's  people  were  prophets,  and  that  the  Lord 
would  put  his  Spirit  upon  them!"  By  such  ex- 
amples as  these  a  good  man  desires  to  live,  yea,  by 
higher  precedents  than  either  Abraham  or  Moses, 
even  by  the  example  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son. 
He  admires,  and  strives  to  imitate,  that  character 
which  is  given  of  God  himself,  "  Thou  art  good, 
and  dost  good;"  and  that  which  is  given  of  Christ 
Jesus,  the  Lord  of  life,  who  "  went  about  doing 
good;"  who  also  witnessed  elsewhere  concerning 
himself,  that  he  came  not  into  the  world  to  do  his 
own  will,  nor  seek  his  own  glory,  but  the  will  and 
glory  of  him  that  sent  him:  and,  again,  "  Wist  ye 
not  that  I  must  be  about  my  Father's  business?" 
Oh  how  happy  would  the  godly  soul  count  itself,  if 
it  could  but  live  and  converse  in  the  world  in  the 

g3 


154 

same  manner,  and  with  the  same  devout,  fervent, 
exalted  spirit,  as  Christ  Jesus  did,  whose  meat  and 
drink  it  was,  still  to  be  doing  the  will,  and  advancing 
the  glory,  of  his  Father  !      But,  alas!  the  poor  soul 
finds  itself  insnared  by  passions,  and  selfish  affections 
from  within,   clogged   with  an  unwieldy  body,  and 
distracted  with  secular  affairs  from  without,   that  it 
cannot  rise  so  nimbly,   run  so  swiftly,   nor  serve  the 
infinite  and  glorious  God  so  cheerfully,  nor  liberally, 
as  it  would;   and,  therefore,   the  poor  prisoner  sighs 
within   itself,   and  wishes   that  it  might  escape :  but 
finding  a   certain   time   determined   upon  it  in  the 
body,   which  it  must  be  content  to  live  out,  it  looks 
up,  and  is  ready  to  envy  the  angels  of  God,  because 
it  cannot  live  as  they  do,  who  are  always  upon  God's 
errand,   and  almost  thinks  much  that  itself  is  not  a 
ministering  spirit,   serving  the  pure  and   perfect  will 
of  the  supreme  good,  without  grudging   or  ceasing. 
The  godly  soul,  under  these  powerful  apprehensions 
of  the  nature  of  God,   the  example  of  Christ,   and 
the  honourable  office  of  the  holy  angels,   is  ready  to 
grudge  the  body  that  attendance  that  it  calls  for, 
and  those  offices  which  it  is  forced  to  perform  to  it ; 
as  judging  them   impertinent  to  its  main  happhiess, 
and  most  excellent  employment.     It  is  ready  to  envy 
that  more  cheerful  and  willing  service,  which  it  finds 
from   the  heavy  and  drossy  body  with   which  it  is 
united,  and  to  cry  out.   Oh  that  I  were  that  to  my 
God,  which  my  body,  my  eyes,  hands,  and  feet,  are 
to  me!  for  I  say  to  one  of  these.  Go,  and  he  goeth ; 
and    to   another.   Do   this,    and   he  doth  it.      In    a 
word,  a  good  man   being  acquainted   feelingly  with 
the  highest  good,  eyeing  diligently  the  great  end  of 


155 

his  coming  into  the  world,  and  his  short  time  of 
being  in  it,  serves  the  eternal  and  blessed  God,  lives 
upon  eternal  designs,  and,  by  consecrating  all  his 
actions  unto  God,  gives  a  kind  of  immortality  to 
them,  which  are  in  themselves  flitting  and  transient : 
he  counts  it  a  reproach  to  any  man,  much  more  to  a 
godly  man,  to  do  any  thing  insignificantly,  much 
more  to  live  impertinently;  and  he  reckons  all  things 
that  have  not  a  tendency  to  the  highest  good,  and 
a  subserviency  to  the  great  and  last  end,  to  be  im- 
pertinencies,  yea,  and  absurdities  in  an  immortal 
soul,  which  should  continually  be  "  springing  up 
into  everlasting  life." 

3.  The  active  and  vigorous  nature  of  true  religion, 
manifests  itself  in  those  powerful  and  incessant  long- 
ings after  God,  with  which  it  fills  that  soul  in  which 
it  is  planted.  This  I  superadd  to  the  two  former, 
because  the  godly  man,  though  he  be  formed  into 
some  likeness  to  God,  yet  desires  to  be  more  like 
him  ;  and  though  he  be  somewhat  serviceable  to  him, 
yet  desires  to  be  more  instrumental  to  his  will : 
though  he  be  good,  yet  he  desires  to  be  better ;  and 
though  he  do  good,  yet  he  desires  to  do  better,  or 
or  at  least  more.  And,  indeed,  I  reckon  that  these 
sincere  and  holy  hungerings  after  God,  which  I  am 
going  to  speak  of,  are  one  of  the  best  signs  that  I 
know  in  the  world  of  spiritual  health,  and  the  best 
criterion  of  a  true  Christian :  for,  in  this  low  and 
animal  state,  we  are  better  acquainted  with  lovings 
and  languishings,  than  with  fruition  or  satisfaction ; 
and  the  best  enjoyment  that  we  have  of  God  in  this 
world,  is  but  scant  and  short,  indeed  but  a  kind  of 
longing  to  enjoy  him.      Love  is  certainly  a  high  and 


156 

noble  affection ;  but  alas  !   our  love,   whilst  we  are 
here  in  the  body,   is  in  its  nonage,  in  its  weak  and 
sickly  state,   rather  a  longing,   than  a  loving;  much 
unlike  to  what  it  will  be,  when  it  shall  be  grown  up 
unto  its  perfect  stature  in  glory.      But  this  sickly 
kind  of  languishing  affection,  is  a  certain  symptom  of 
a  healthful  constitution ;  or,   as  the  Apostle  calls  it, 
of  "  the  spirit  of  a  sound  mind."      Godly  souls  are 
thirsty  souls,  always  gasping  after  the  living  springs 
of  divine  grace,   even  as  the  parched  desert  gapeth 
for  the  dew  of  heaven,  the  early  and  the  latter  rain. 
One  would  wonder  what  kind  of  magic  there  was  in 
Elijah's  mantle,    that  the  very  casting  of  it   upon 
Elisha  should  make  him  leave  oxen  and  plough,  yea, 
father  and  mother,  and  all,  to  run  after  a  stranger: 
Elijah  himself  seems  to  wonder  at  it,   "  What  have 
I  done  to  thee?"      Oh,   but   what  a   mighty  charm 
is  there  in  divine  love  !   which,  when  it  is  once  shed 
abroad  in  the  soul,   makes  the  soul  to  spread  itself 
in  it,  and  to  it,   as  the  heliotrope  attending  the  mo- 
tions of  the   sun,   and  turning  itself  every  way  to- 
wards it,   welcoming  its  warm  and  refreshing  beams. 
Elijah  passing  by  Elisha  as  he  was  at  plough,   and 
catching  him  with  his  mantle,  is  but  a  scant  resem- 
blance of  the  blessed  God  passing  by  a  carnal  mind, 
and  wrapping  it  in  the  mantle  of  his  love,  and  thereby 
Causing  it  to  run,  yea,   to  fly  swiftly  after  him.      If 
divine  grace  do  but  once  touch  the  soul,   the  soul 
presently  sticks  to  it,  as  the  needle  to  the  loadstone. 
They  that  heard  Christ  Jesus  chiding  the  winds  and 
the  waves,  cried  out,  "  What  manner  of  man  is  this, 
that  even  the  winds  and  the  sea  obey  him  ?"  but  if 
one  had  been  present   when   he  called  James  and 


157 

John  from   their  nets,   Matthew  from  the  custom- 
house, and  Zaccheus  from  the  tree,   and   by  calling 
made  them  willing  to  come,   would  have  cried  out, 
sure,  what  manner  of  God  is  this  !  that,  by  his  bare 
word,   makes  poor  men  leave  their  trades  and  liveli- 
hood, and  rich  men  their  gainful  exactions,   usuries, 
oppressions,  to  follow  him ;  and  shows  them  no  rea- 
son why.      What   a  mighty  virtue   is  there  in   the 
ointment  of   Christ's   name,    that   as   soon  as  it  is 
poured   out,    the    virgins   fall    in    love    with    him  ? 
Micah  cried  out,  when  he  was  in  pursuit  of  his  gods, 
and  should  they  ask  him  what  ailed  him  ?    And  will 
ye  wonder  that  a  holy  soul,  in  pursuit  of  the  holy 
God,  should  be  in  earnest ;  that  he  should  run,  and 
cry  as  he  runs  ?  as  I  have  seen  a  fond  child  whom 
the  father  or  mother  have  endeavoured  to  leave  be- 
hind them.     God  breathing  into  the  soul,  makes  the 
soul  breathe  after  him,  and  in  a  mixture  of  holy  dis- 
dain and  anger,   to  thurst  away  from  itself  all   dis- 
tracting companions,  occasions,  and  concerns,  saying, 
with  Ephraim  to  her  idols,  "  Get  ye  hence."      The 
soul  thus  inspired  is  so  far  from  prostituting  itself  to 
any  earthly,   sensual,   selfish  lusts  and  loves,   that  it 
cannot  brook  any  thing  that  would  weaken  it  in  the 
prosecution  of  the  highest  good;   it  is  impatient  of 
every  thing  that  would  either  stop  or  slacken  its  mo- 
tions after  God.      The  godly  man  desires  still  to  be 
doing  something  for  God  indeed;  but  if  the  case  so 
fall  out,  that  he  cannot  spend  his  life  for  God  as  he 
desires,  yet  he  will  be  spending  his  soul  upon  him  : 
though  he  cannot  perpetually  abide  upon  the  knee  of 
prayer,  yet  he  would  be  continually  upon  the  wing 
of  faith  and  love :  when  his  tongue  cleaves  to  the 


158 

roof  of  his  mouth,  that  he  cannot  speak  for  God,  yet 
his  soul  shall  cleave  unto  him,  and  complain  because 
it  can  speak  no  longer.  For  faith  and  love  are 
knitting  graces,  and  do  long  to  make  the  soul  as 
much  one  with  their  object,  as  is  possible  for  the 
creature  to  be  with  its  Creator,  Religion  puts  a 
restless  appetite  into  the  soul  after  a  higher  good, 
and  makes  it  throw  itself  into  his  arms,  and  wind  itself 
into  his  embraces,  longing  to  be  in  a  more  intimate 
conjunction  with  him,  or  rather  entirely  wrapped 
up  in  him :  itself  is  an  unsatiable  and  covetous  prin- 
ciple in  the  soul,  much  like  to  the  daughter  of  the 
horse-leech,  crying  continually,  "  Give,  give:"  what 
the  prophet  speaks  rhetorically  of  hell,  is  also  true 
concerning  this  offspring  of  heaven,  in  the  soul,  "  it 
enlargeth  itself,  and  openeth  its  mouth  without  mea- 
sure." The  spirit  of  true  godliness  seems  to  be  al- 
together such,  that  it  cannot  rest  in  any  measures 
of  grace,  or  be  fully  contented  with  any  of  its  attain- 
ments in  this  life;  but  ardently  longs  to  receive  the 
more  plentiful  communications  of  love,  the  more 
deep  and  legible  impressions  of  grace,  the  more  clear 
and  ample  experiences  of  divine  assistance,  the  more 
sensible  evidences  of  divine  favour,  the  more  power- 
ful and  ravishing  illapses  and  incomes  of  divine  con- 
solation into  itself;  "let  him  kiss  me  with  the  kisses 
of  his  mouth."  Such  is  the  spirit  of  true  godliness, 
that  the  weakest  that  is  endued  with  it,  longs  to  be 
as  David,  and  the  Davids  to  be  as  God,  as  the  angel 
of  the  Lord,  according  to  that  promise,  *'  In  that 
day  shall  the  Lord  defend  the  inhabitants  of  Jeru- 
salem; and  he  that  is  feeble  among  them  at  that  day 
shall  be  as  David ;  and  the  house  of  David  shall  be 


1.59 

as  God,  as  the  angel  of  the  Lord  before  them.*' 
The  godly  soul  that  is  in  his  right  senses,  under  the 
powerful  apprehensions  of  the  loveliness  of  God,  and 
the  beauty  of  holiness,  cannot  be  content  to  live  by 
any  lower  instance  than  that  of  David,   whose  soul 
even  broke  for  the  longing  that  it  had  unto  the  Lord  ; 
or  that  of  the  spouse,  who  was  even  '*  sick  of  love." 
You  have  read  of  the  mother  of  Sisera,  lookino-  out 
at  the  window,  waiting  for  his  coming,  and  crying 
through  the  lattice,  "  Why  is  his  chariot  so  long  in 
coming ;  why  tarry  the  wheels  of  his  chariot  ?"   But 
this  is  not  to  be  compared  to  the  earnest  expectation 
of  the  creature,   the  new  creature,   waiting  for  the 
manifestation  of  God ;   which  the  Apostle  elegantly 
expresseth,  and  yet  seems  to  labour  for  words,  as  if 
he  could  not   sufficiently  express   it  neither,    Rom. 
viii.  23.      You  have  read  of  the  Israelites  marching 
up  towards  the  promised  land,  and  murmuring  that 
they  were  held   so  long  in  the  wilderness :    but  the 
true  Israelitish  soul  makes  more  haste  with  less  dis- 
content, marches  as  under  the  conduct  of  the  Angel 
of  God's  presence,   and  longs  to  arrive  at  its  rest; 
but,  alas  !  it  is  held  in  the  wilderness  too;  and  there- 
fore cannot  be  fully  quiet  in  itself,  but  sends  forth 
spies  to  view  the  land,   the  scouts  of  faith  and  hope, 
like  Caleb  and  Joshua,  those  men  of  another  spirit; 
and  these  go  and  walk  through  the  holy  land,   and 
return  home   to  the  soul,   and   come  back,    not  as 
Noah's  dove,    with  an  olive  leaf  in  her  mouth,  but 
with  some  clusters   in    their  hands,  they  bring  the 
soul  a  taste  of  the  good  things  of  the  kingdom,   of 
the  glories  of  her  eternal  state;   yea,  the  soul  itself 
marches  up  to  possess  the  land,  goes  out,  with  the 


160 

spouse  in  the  Canticles,  to  meet  the  Lord,  to  seek 
him  whom  her  soul  lovetb.  Religion  is  a  sacred 
fire,  kept  burning  in  the  temple  of  the  soul  con- 
tinually, which  being  once  kindled  from  heaven, 
never  goes  out,  but  burns  up  heaven-wards,  as  the 
nature  of  fire  is.  This  fire  is  kept  alive  in  the  soul 
to  all  eternity,  though  sometimes,  through  the  ashes 
of  earthly  cares  and  concerns  cast  into  it,  or  the  sun 
of  earthly  prosperity  shining  upon  it,  it  may  some- 
times burn  more  dimly,  and  seem  almost  as  if  it 
were  quite  smothered;  this  fire  is  for  sacrifice  too, 
though  sacrifice  be  not  always  offered  upon  it;  the 
same  fire  of  faith  and  love,  which  offered  up  the 
morning  sacrifice,  is  kept  alive  all  the  day  long,  and 
is  ready  to  kindle  the  evening  sacrifice  too,  when 
the  appointed  time  of  it  shall  come.  In  this  chariot 
of  fire  it  is,  that  the  soul  is  continually  carried  out 
towards  God,  and  accomplisheth  a  kind  of  glorifica- 
tion daily;  and  when  it  finds  itself  firmly  seated, 
and  swiftly  carried  herein,  it  no  longer  envies  the 
translation  of  Elias.  The  spirit  of  sanctification  is 
in  the  soul,  as  a  burning  fire  shut  up  in  the  bones, 
which  makes  the  soul  weary  with  forbearing,  and  so 
powerful  in  longings,  that  it  cannot  stay:  as  the 
spirit  of  prophecy  is  described,  Jer.  xx.  it  is  more 
true  of  the  Spirit  of  God  than  of  the  spirit  of  Elihu, 
the  spirit  within  constraineth,  and  even  presseth, 
the  soul,  so  that  it  is  ready  to  swoon  and  faint  away 
for  very  vehemence  of  longing.  See  the  amorous 
spouse  falling  into  one  of  these  fainting  fits,  and 
crying  out  mainly  for  some  cordial  from  heaven  to 
keep  up  her  sinking  spirits,  "  Stay  me  with  flagons, 
comfort  me  with  apples  ;  for  I  am  sick  of  love."      Ob 


161 

beautiful  and  blessed  sight,  a  soul  working  towards 
God,  gasping,  and  longing,  and  labouring,  after  its 
proper  happiness  and  perfection  !  Well,  the  sink- 
ing soul  is  relieved ;  Christ  Jesus  reacheth  forth  his 
left  hand  to  her  head,  and  his  right  hand  embraceth 
her;  and  now  she  recovers,  her  hanging  hands  lift 
up  themselves,  and  the  beauties  of  her  fading  com- 
plexion are  restored;  now  she  sits  down  "  under  his 
shadow  with  great  delight,  and  his  fruit  is  sweet 
unto  her  taste."  See  here  the  fairest  sight  on  this 
side  heaven ;  a  soul  resting,  and  glorying,  and 
spreading  itself  in  the  arms  of  God,  growing  up  in 
him,  growing  great  in  him,  growing  full  in  his  ful- 
ness, and  perfectly  ravished  with  his  pure  love  !  O 
my  soul,  be  not  content  to  live  by  any  lower  instance? 
"  Did  not  our  hearts  burn  within  us,"  said  the  two 
disciples  one  to  the  other,  "  whilst  he  talked  with 
us?"  But  the  soul  in  which  the  sacred  fire  of  love 
is  powerfully  kindled,  doth  not  only  burn  towards 
God,  whilst  he  is  more  familiarly  present  with  it, 
and,  as  it  were,  blows  upon  it;  but  if  he  seem  to 
withdraw  from  it,  it  burns  after  him  still:  "  My 
Beloved  had  withdrawn  himself,  and  was  gone ;  I 
sought  him  ;  I  called  him."  And  if  the  firebegin  to 
languish,  and  seem  as  if  it  would  go  out,  the  holy 
soul  is  startled  presently,  and  labours,  as  the  Apostle 
speaks,  to  revive  it,  and  blow  it  up  again;  calls  upon 
itself  to  awake,  to  arise  and  pursue,  to  mend  its  pace, 
and  to  speed  its  heavy  and  sluggish  motions.  This 
divine  active  principle  in  the  soul  maintains  a  conti- 
nual striving,  a  holy  struggling,  and  stretching  forth 
of  the  soul  towards  God,  a  bold  and  ardent  conten- 
tion  after  the   supreme    good ;    religion    hath    the 


162 

strength  of  the  Divinity  in  it,  its  motions  towards  its 
object  are  quick  and  potent.  Tiiat  elegant  description 
which  the  prophet  makes  of  the  wicked  heart,  with 
some  change,  may  be  brought  to  express  this  excellent 
temper  of  the  godly  soul ;  it  is  like  the  working  sea  j 
which  cannot  rest ;  and  although  its  waters  do  not 
cast  up  mire  and  dirt,  yet,  in  a  holy  impatience, 
they  rise  and  swell,  and  cast  up  a  froth  and  foam 
towards  heaven.  In  a  word,  that  I  may  comprise 
many  things  in  few  expressions,  no  man  so  ambi- 
tious as  the  humble,  none  so  covetous  as  the  hea- 
venly-minded, none  so  voluptuous  as  the  self-deny- 
ing. Religion  gives  a  largeness  and  wideness  to 
the  soul,  which  sin,  and  self,  and  the  world,  had 
straitened  and  confined;  but  his  ambition  is  only  to 
be  great  in  God,  his  covetousness  is  only  to  be  filled 
with  all  the  fulness  of  God,  and  his  voluptuousness 
is  only  to  drink  of  the  rivers  of  his  pure  pleasures: 
he  desires  to  taste  the  God  whom  he  sees,  and  to 
be  satisfied  with  the  God  whom  he  tastes.  Oh 
now,  how  are  all  the  faculties  of  the  soul  awakened 
to  attendance  upon  the  Lord  of  life  !  It  hearkens 
for  the  sound  of  his  feet  coming,  the  noise  of  his 
hands  knocking  at  the  door;  it  stands  upon  its 
watch-tower,  waiting  for  his  appearing,  waiting 
more  earnestly  than  they  that  watch  for  the  morn- 
ing, and  rejoices  to  meet  him  at  his  coming ;  and 
having  met  him,  runs  into  his  arms,  kisses  him, 
holds  him,  and  will  not  let  him  go,  but  brings  him 
into  the  house,  and  entertains  him  in  the  guest- 
chamber;  the  soul  complains  that  itself  is  not  large 
enough,  that  there  is  not  room  enough  to  entertain 
so  glorious  a  guest,  no,  not  though  it  have  given 


163 

him  all  the  room  that  it  hath  ;  it  entertains  him  with 
the  widest  arms,  and  the  sweetest  smiles  ;  and  if  he 
depart  and  withdraw,  fetches  him  again  with  the 
deepest  groans,  Return,  return,  O  Prince  of  peace, 
and  make  me  an  everlasting  habitation  of  rifjhteous- 
iiess  unto  thyself! 

It  will  not  be  amiss  here  briefly  to  touch  upon 
the  reason  of  the  godly  soul's  so  ardent  pantings 
after  God.  And  here  I  might  show  first,  negatively, 
that  it  springs  not  from  any  carnal  ambition  of  being 
better  and  higher  than  others,  not  from  any  carnal 
hope  of  impunity  and  safety,  nor  merely  from  the 
bitter  sense  of  pressing  and  tormenting  afflictions  in 
this  life.  But  I  shall  rather  insist  upon  it  affirma- 
tively. These  earnest  breathings  after  God  spring 
from  the  feeling  apprehensions  of  self-indigency  and 
insufficiency,  and  the  powerful  sense  of  divine  good- 
ness and  fulness ;  they  are  begotten  of  the  divine 
bounty  and  self-sufficiency,  manifesting  itself  to  the 
spirits  of  men,  and  conceived  and  brought  forth  by 
a  deep  sense  of  self-poverty.  One  might  almost  apply 
the  Apostle's  words  to  this  purpose,  *'  We  receive 
the  sentence  of  death  in  ourselves,  that  we  should 
not  trust  in  ourselves,  bijt  in  him."  I  shall  not  dis- 
course upon  these  two  heads  disjunctly,  but  frame 
them  into  one  notion,  and  so  you  may  take  it  thus; 
these  holy  longings  of  the  godly  soul  after  God,  do 
arise  from  the  sense  of  its  distance  from  God.  To 
be  so  far  distant  from  God,  who  is  life  and  love  itself, 
and  the  proper  and  full  happiness  of  the  soul,  is 
grievous  to  the  soul  that  is  rightly  affected  towards 
him  :  and  hence  it  is  that  the  soul  cannot  be  at  rest, 
but  still  longs  to  be  more  intimately  joined  to  him, 


164 

and  more  perfectly  filled  with  him :  and  the   clearer 
the  soul's  apprehensions  are  of  its  object,  and  the 
deeper  its  sense  is  of  its  own  unlikeness  to  him,  and 
distance  from  him,  the  more  strong  and  impatient 
are  its  breathings;   insomuch  that  not  only  fear,  as 
the  Apostle  speaks,   but  even  love  itself  sometimes 
seems  to  itself  to  have  a  kind  of  agony  and  torment 
in  itself;   which  made  the  spouse  cry,  she  was  sick 
of  love,  that  is,   sick  of  every  thing  that  kept  her 
from  her  love,   sick  of  that  distance  at  which  she 
stood   from    her   beloved   Lord.       The  godly   soul 
being  ravished  with  the  infinite  sweetness  and  good- 
ness of  God,  longs  to  be  that  rather  than  what  itself 
is ;   and  beholding  how  it  is  estranged  from  him,  by 
many  sensual  loves,   selfish  passions,  corporeal  clogs 
and  distractions,   bewails  its  distance,   and  cries  out 
within  itself,   "  Oh  when  shall  I  come  and  appear 
before  God  !"      Oh  when  will  God  come  and  appear 
gloriously  to  me  and  in  me  !      "  Who  will  deliver 
me  from  this  body  of  death  !"      Oh  that  mortality 
were  swallowed  up  of  life  !      David's  soul  did   wait 
for  God  as  earnestly,   and  more  properly,  than  they 
that  watch  for  the  morning;  they  may  be  said  rather 
to  be  weary  of  the  long  and  cold  and  troublesome 
night,   than  properly   covetous  of  the  day;   but  he, 
out  of  a  pure  and  spiritual  sense  of  his  estrangement 
from    God,    longs    to    appear   before    him,    and    be 
wrapped  up  in  him.      Heal  the  godly  man  of  all  his 
afflictions,  grievances,   adversities  in  the  world,  that 
he  may  have  nothing  to  trouble  him,  nor  put  him  to 
pain;  yet  he  is  not  quiet,  he  is  in  pain  because  of  the 
distance  at  which  he  stands  from  God  :  give  him  the 
whole  world,  and  all  the  glory  of  it,  yet  he  has  not 


165 

enough ;  he  still  cries,  and  craves,  "  Give,  give," 
because  he  is  not  entirely  swallowed  up  in  God :  he 
openeth  his  mouth  wide,  as  the  Psalmist  speaks,  and 
all  the  silver  and  gold,  peace,  health,  liberty,  pre- 
ferment, that  you  cast  into  it,  cannot  fill  it;  because 
they  are  not  God,  he  cannot  look  upon  them  as  his 
chiefest  good.  In  a  word,  a  godly  man  doth  not  so 
much  say,  in  the  sense  either  of  sin  or  affliction, 
"  Oh  that  one  would  give  me  the  wings  of  a  dove, 
that  I  might  fly  away  and  be  at  rest !"  as  in  the 
sense  of  his  dissimilitude  to,  and  distance  from  God, 
Oh  tbat  one  would  give  me  the  wings  of  an  angel, 
that  I  might  fly  away  towards  heaven  ! 


166 


CHAPTER  V. 

An  expostulation  ujith  Christians  concerning  their  remiss 
and  sluggish  tetriper  ;  an  attempt  to  convince  them  of  it 
hy  some  considerations ;  ivhich  arcy  1.  The  activity  of 
iwrldly  men.  2.  The  restless  appetites  of  the  body. 
3.  The  strong  jjropensio?is  of  every  creature  tovoai'ds 
its  own  centr'C :  an  inquiry  into  the  slothfidness  and 
inactivity  of  Christian  souls.  The  grace  of  faith  vin- 
dicated from  the  slander  of  being  merely  jxissive.  A 
short  attempt  to  aixaken  Christians  unto  greater  vigour 
and  activity. 

We  have  seen  in  what  respects  religion  is  an 
active  principle  in  the  soul  where  it  is  seated;  give 
me  leave  to  enlarge  a  little  here  for  conviction  or 
reprehension.      By  this  property  of  true  religion  we 
shall  be   able   to  discover   much    that   is  false   and 
counterfeit  in   the  world.      If  religion   be  no  lazy, 
languid,   sluggish,  passive  thing,  but  life,  love,  the 
spirit  of  power  and  freedom,   a  fire  burning,   a  well 
of  water  springing  up,  as  we  have  sufficiently  seen, 
what   shall   we   say   then    of  that   heavy,    sluggish, 
spiritless  kind  of  religion  that  most  men  take  up 
with  ?      Shall   we  call  it  a  spirit   of  life,    with   the 
Apostle ;  and  yet  allow  of  a  religion  that  is  cold  and 
dead  ?      Shall  we  call  it  a  spirit  of  love  and  power, 
with  the  same  Apostle;  and  yet  allow  of  it,  though 
it  be  indifferent,  low,   and  impotent?      Or  will  such 
pass   for  current    with   the   wise  and  holy   God,   if 
we  should  pass  a  favourable  censure  upon  it?      And 
why  should  it  ever  pass  with  men,  if  it  will  not  for- 


167 

ever  pass  with  God?  But,  indeed,  how  can  this 
inactivity  and  sluggishness  pass  for  religion  amongst 
men?  Who  can  think  you  are  in  pursuit  of  the 
infinite  and  supreme  good,  that  sees  you  so  slow  in 
your  motions  towards  it?  Who  can  think  that 
your  treasure  is  in  heaven,  that  sees  your  heart  so 
far  from  thence?  The  more  any  thing  partakes  of 
God,  and  the  nearer  it  comes  to  liim  who  is  the 
fountain  of  hfe,  and  power,  and  virtue,  the  more 
active,  powerful,  and  lively  will  it  be.  We  read  of 
an  atheistical  generation  in  Zeph.  i.  12.  who  fancied 
to  themselves  an  idle  and  slothful  God,  that  minded 
not  the  affairs  of  the  world  at  all,  saying,  "  The 
Lord  will  not  do  good,  neither  will  he  do  evil  ;'* 
which  was  also  the  false  and  gross  conceit  of  many 
of  the  heathen,  as  Cicero  confesses  of  some  of  the 
philosophers  themselves,  "  who  maintain  that  God 
has  no  power  in  himself,  and  can  impart  no  power 
to  any  other:"  and,  indeed,  though  it  be  not  so 
blasphemous,  yet  it  is  almost  as  absurd,  to  fancy 
an  idle  saint,  as  an  idle  deity.  Sure  I  am,  if 
it  be  not  altogether  impossible,  yet  it  is  altogether 
a  shameful  and  deformed  sight;  a  holy  soul  in  a 
lethargy,  a  godly  soul  that  is  not  in  pursuit  of  God, 
Moses  indeed  bids  Israel  "  stand  still,  and  see  the 
salvation  of  the  Lord;"  but  there  is  no  such  divinity 
in  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  this,  'stand  still  and  see 
the  salvation  of  the  soul,'  though  some  have  violently 
pressed  those  words,  Exod.  xiv.  13.  to  serve  under 
their  slothful  standard:  no,  no,  the  Scripture  speaks 
to  us  in  another  manner — "  work  out  your  own  sal- 
vation :"  and,  indeed,  the  Spirit  of  God  doth  every 
where    describe  religion   by   the  activity,   industry. 


168 

vigour,  and  quietness  of  it,  as  I  hinted  in  the  very 
beginning  of  this  discourse,  and  could  abundantly 
confirm  and  explain,  if  there  were  need  of  it. 

But  that  I  may  more  powerfully  convince  and 
awaken  the  lazy  and  heavy  spirit  and  temper  of 
many  professors,  I  will  briefly  touch  upon  a  few 
particulars,  which  I  will  next  propound  to  their 
serious  consideration. 

1.  The  children  of  this  world,  earthly  and  sensual 
men,  are  not  so  slothful,  so  lazy,  so  indifferent  in 
the  pursuit  of  earthly  and  sensual  objects.  You 
say  you  have  laid  up  your  treasure  in  heaven;  we 
know  they  have  laid  up  their  treasure  in  the  earth : 
now,  who  is  it  that  behaves  himself  more  suitably 
and  seemly  towards  his  treasure?  You  or  they? 
You  say  you  have  a  treasure  in  heaven,  and  are 
content  to  be  able  to  say  so,  but  make  no  haste  to 
be  fully  and  feelingly  possessed  of  it,  to  enjoy  the 
benefit  and  sweetness  of  it.  But  they  "  rise  up 
early  and  sit  up  late,"  and  either  pine  themselves, 
or  eat  the  bread  of  sorrow,  to  obtain  earthly  and 
perishing  inheritances ;  they  compass  the  world, 
travel  far,  sell  all  to  purchase  that  part  which  is  of 
so  great  price  with  them :  and  when  they  have 
accomplished  it.  Oh  how  do  they  set  their  heart 
upon  it,  bind  up  their  souls  in  the  same  bags  with 
their  money,  and  seal  up  their  affections  together 
with  it:  yea,  and  they  are  not  at  rest  neither,  but 
find  a  gnawing  hunger  upon  their  hearts  after  more 
still,  to  add  house  to  house,  and  land  to  land,  and 
one  bag  to  another; — the  covetous  miser  is  ready  to 
sit  down  and  wring  his  hands,  because  he  hath  no 
more  hands  to  scrape  with;  the  voluptuous  epicure 


169 

is  angry  that  he  hath  not  the  neck  of  a  crane  the 
better  to  taste  his  dainties;  and  ambitious  Alexander, 
when  he  domineer's  over  the  known  world,  is  ready 
to  sit  down  and  whine,  because  there  are  no  more 
worlds  to  conquer.  What  Christian  but  must  be 
ashamed  of  himself,  when  he  reads  the  description 
which  Plautus,  the  comedian,  makes  of  a  covetous 
worldling,  under  the  person  of  Euclio,  how  he  hid 
his  pot  of  gold,  heeded  it,  watched  it,  visited  it 
almost  every  hour,  would  not  go  from  it  in  the  day, 
could  not  sleep  for  it  in  the  night,  suspected  every 
body  that  so  much  as  looked  towards  it,  and  by  all 
means  kept  it  even  as  his  life  ?  For  where  is  the 
like  eager  and  ardent  disposition  to  be  found  in  a 
Christian  towards  God  himself?  Tell  me,  is  it 
possible  for  a  man  that  vehemently  loves  a  virgin, 
to  be  content  all  his  life  long  to  court  her  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  not  care  whether  ever  he  do  actually 
enjoy  her  or  not?  Or  must  not  such  a  one  neces- 
sarily pursue  a  matrimonial  and  most  intimate  union 
with  her  ?  Let  us  now  confess  the  truth,  and  every 
one  judge  himself. 

2.  This  dull  and  earthly  body,  is  not  so  indiffer- 
ently affected  towards  meat  and  drink,  and  rest,  and 
the  things  that  serve  its  necessities,  and  gratify  its 
temper.  Hunger  will  break  down  stone  walls,  and 
thirst  will  give  away  a  kingdom  for  a  cup  of  water; 
sickness  will  not  be  eased  by  good  words,  nor  will  a 
drowsy  brain  be  bribed  by  any  entertainments  of 
company  or  recreation:  no,  no,  the  necessities  of  the 
body  must  and  will  be  relieved  with  food,  and  physic, 
and  sleep;  the  restless  and  raging  appetite  will  never 
cease  calling  and  crying  to  the  soul  for  supplies  till 

H  38 


170 

it  arise  and  give  them.  Behold,  O  my  soul !  con- 
sider the  mighty  and  incessant  appetites  and  tenden- 
cies of  the  body  after  sensual  objects,  after  its  suit- 
able good  and  proper  perfection,  and  be  ashamed  of 
thy  more  remiss  and  sluggish  inclinations  towards 
the  highest  good,  a  God-like  perfection? 

3.  No  creature  in  the  whole  world  is  so  languid, 
slow,  and  indifferent,  in  its  motions  towards  its  proper 
rest  and  centre.  How  easy  were  it  to  call  heaven 
and  earth  to  witness  the  free,  pleasant,  cheerful, 
eager  addresses  of  every  creature  according  to  its 
kind,  towards  its  own  centre  and  happiness  ?  The 
sun  in  the  firmament  rejoices  to  run  its  race,  and  will 
not  stand  still  one  moment,  except  it  be  miraculously 
overpowered  by  the  command  of  God  himself;  the 
rivers  seem  to  be  in  pain,  till  by  a  continued  flowing, 
they  have  accomplished  to  themselves  a  kind  of  per- 
fection, and  be  swallowed  up  in  the  bosom  of  the 
ocean,  except  they  be  benumbed  with  cold,  or  other- 
wise over-mastered  and  retarded  by  foreign  violence. 
I  need  not  instance  in  sensitives  and  vegetatives;  all 
which,  you  know,  with  a  natural  vigour  and  activity, 
grow  up  daily  towards  a  perfect  state  and  stature. 
Were  it  not  a  strange  and  monstrous  sight,  to  see  a 
stone  settling  in  the  air,  and  not  working  towards  its 
centre?  Such  a  spectacle  is  a  godly  soul  settling 
upon  earth,  and  not  endeavouring  a  nearer  and  more 
intimate  union  with  its  God.  Wherefore,  Chris- 
tians, either  cease  to  pretend  that  you  have  chosen 
God  for  your  portion,  centre,  happiness,  or  else  arise 
and  cease  not  to  pursue  and  accomplish  the  closest 
union  and  the  most  familiar  conjunction  with  him 
that  your  souls  are  capable  of:  otherwise  I  call  heaven 


171 

and  earth  to  witness  against  you  this  day:  and  the 
day  is  coming,  when  you  will  be  put  to  shame  by  the 
whole  creation.  Doth  every,  even  the  meanest 
creature  of  God,  pursue  its  end  and  perfection,  and 
proper  happiness,  with  ardent  and  vehement  longings  ; 
and  shall  a  soul,  the  noblest  of  all  creatures,  stand 
folding  up  itself  in  itself,  or  choking  up  its  wide  and 
divine  capacity  with  dust  and  dirt?  Shall  a  godly 
soul,  the  noblest  of  all  souls,  hang  the  wings,  sus- 
pend its  motions  towards  the  supreme  good,  or  so 
much  as  once  offer  to  faint  and  languish  in  its  enter- 
prizes  for  eternal  life?  Tell  it  not  at  Athens,  publish 
it  not  at  Rome,  lest  the  heathen  philosophers  deride, 
and  hiss  us  out  of  the  world. 

But  you  will  ask  me,  when  a  Christian  may  be 
said  to  be  sluggish  and  inactive?  and  who  these  lazy 
souls  are?  I  will  premise  two  things,  and  then  wive 
you  a  brief  account  of  them.  1.  When  I  speak  of 
a  sluggish  and  spiritless  religion,  I  do  not  speak  as 
the  hot-spirited  Anabaptists  or  Chiliasts,  who  being 
themselves  acted  by  a  strange  fervour  of  mind,  mis- 
called zeal,  are  wont  to  declaim  against  all  men  as 
cold  and  benumbed  in  their  spirits,  who  do  not  call 
for  fire  from  heaven  to  consume  all  dissenters,  under 
the  notion  of  Antichristian;  who  are  not  afraid  to 
reproach  the  divine,  holy,  gentle,  yet  generous  spirit 
of  religion,  calling  it  weak,  womanish,  cowardly,  low, 
cold,  and  I  know  not  what.  These  men,  I  believe, 
so  far  as  I  can  guess  at  their  spirit,  if  they  had  lived 
in  the  days  of  our  Saviour,  and  had  beheld  that 
gentle,  meek,  humble,  peaceable  spirit,  which  did 
infinitely  shine  forth  in  him,  would  have  gone  nigh 
to  have  reproved  him  for  not  carrying  on  his  own 

H  2 


172 

kingdom  with  sufficient  vigour  and  activity;  if  not 
have  judged  Christ  himself  to  be  much  Antichris- 
tian.  I  hope  you  see  nothing,  in  all  my  discoveries 
of  the  active  spirit  of  religion,  that  savours  of  such  a 
fiery  spirit  as  this.  2.  When  I  do  so  highly  com- 
mend the  active  spirit  of  true  religion,  and  the  vigor- 
ous temper  of  truly  religious  souls,  I  would  not  be 
understood,  as  if  I  thought  all  such  souls  were  alike 
bwift,  or  that  any  such  soul  did  always  move  with 
like  svvifiaiess,  and  keep  a  like  pace  towards  God. 
I  know  that  there  are  different  degrees  of  active 
souls,  yea,  and  different  degrees  of  activity  in  the 
same  soul,  as  may  be  seen.  Cant.  v.  3.  compared  with 
the  sixth  verse  of  the  same  chapter,  and  in  many 
other  places  of  Scripture. 

But  yet,  that  none  may  flatter  and  deceive  them- 
selves with  an  opinion  of  their  being  what  indeed 
they  are  not,  I  will  briefly  discover  the  sluggishness 
and  inactivity  of  Christians  in  a  few  particulars.  I 
pray  take  it  not  ill  though  the  greater  part  of  Chris- 
tians be  found  guilty;  for  that  is  no  other  than  what 
Christ  himself  hath  prophesied. 

1.  The  active  spirit  of  religion  in  the  soul  will 
not  suffer  men  to  take  up  their  rest  in  a  constant 
course  of  external  performances ;  and  they  are  but 
slothful  souls  that  place  their  religion  in  any  thing 
without  them.  By  external  performances,  I  mean 
not  only  open,  and  public,  and  solemn  services,  but 
even  the  most  private,  and  secret  performances  that 
are  in  and  by  the  body,  and  without  the  soul.  It 
is  not  possible  that  a  soul  should  be  happy  in  any 
thing  that  is  extrhisical  to  itself,  no  not  in  God  him- 
self, if  we  consider  him  only  as  something  without 


173 

the  soul :  the  devil  himself  knows  and  sees  much  of 
God  without  him ;  but,  having  no  communications 
of  a  divine  nature  or  life,  being  perfectly  estranged 
from  the  liie  of  God,  he  remains  perfectly  miserable. 
I  doubt  it  is  a  common  deceit  in  the  world;  men  toil 
and  labour  in  bodily  acts  of  worship  and  religion  in 
a  slavish  and  mercenary  manner,  and  think,  with 
those  labourers  in  the  parable,  that,  at  the  end,  they 
must  needs  receive  great  wages,  and  much  thanks, 
because  they  have  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of  the 
day.  Alas!  that  ever  men  should  so  grossly  mistake 
the  nature  of  religion,  as  to  sink  it  into  a  few  bodily 
acts  and  carcase-services,  and  to  think  it  is  nothing 
else  but  a  running  the  round  of  duties  and  ordi« 
nances,  and  a  keeping  up  a  constant  set  and  course 
of  actions  !  Such  an  external  legal  righteousness  the 
Apostle  Paul,  after  his  conversion,  could  not  take 
up  with,  but  counted  it  all  loss  and  dung  in  com- 
parison of  that  God-like  righteousness  which  v;as 
now  brought  into  his  soul,  that  inward  and  spiritual 
conformity  to  Christ,  which  was  now  wrought  in 
him :  "  That  I  may  be  found  in  Christ,  not  having 
mine  own  righteousness,  which  is  of  the  law,  but  that 
which  is  through  the  faith  of  Christ,  the  righteous- 
ness which  is  of  God  by  faith;  that  I  may  know 
him,  and  the  power  of  his  resurrection;  and  the  fellow- 
ship of  his  sufferings,  being  made  conformable  unto 
his  death."  I  know  indeed  that  men  will  be  loath 
to  confess  that  they  place  their  religion  in  any  thing 
without  them;  but,  I  pray,  consider  seriously  where- 
in you  excel  other  men,  save  only  in  praying,  or 
hearing  now  and  then,  or  some  other  outward  acts, 
and  judge  yourselves  by  your  nature,  and  not  by 
your  actions. 


174 

2.  The  active  spirit  of  religion,  where  it  is  in  the 
soul,  will  not  suffer  men  to  take  up  their  rest  in  a 
mere  pardon  of  sin  ;  and  they  are  but  slothful  souls 
that  could  be  so  satisfied.  Blessed  is  the  man  in- 
deed "  whose  iniquities  are  pardoned."  But  if  we 
could  suppose  a  soul  to  be  acquitted  of  the  guilt  of 
all  sin,  and  yet  to  lie  bound  under  the  dominion  of 
lusts  and  passions,  and  to  live  without  God  in  the 
world,  he  were  yet  far  from  true  blessedness.  A 
real  hell  and  misery  will  arise  out  of  the  very  bowels 
of  sin  and  wickedness,  though  there  should  be  no 
reserve  of  fire  and  brimstone  in  the  world  to  come. 
It  is  utterly  impossible  that  a  soul  should  be  happy 
out  of  God,  though  it  had  the  greatest  security 
imaginable  that  it  should  never  suffer  any  thing  from 
him.  The  highest  care  and  ambition  indeed  of  a 
slavish  and  mercenary  spirit,  is  to  be  secured  from 
the  wrath  and  vengeance  of  God,  but  the  breathings 
of  the  ingenuous  and  holy  soul  are  after  a  divine  life, 
and  God-like  perfections.  This  right  gracious  tem- 
per you  may  see  in  David,  which  is  also  the  temper 
of  every  truly  religious  soul :  "  Hide  thy  face  from 
my  ains,  and  blot  out  all  mine  iniquities.  Create  in 
me  a  clean  heart,  O  God  ;  and  renew  a  right  spirit 
within  me.  Cast  me  not  away  from  thy  presence  ; 
and  take  not  thy  Holy  Spirit  from  me.  Restore 
unto  me  the  joy  of  thy  salvation ;  and  uphold  me 
with  thy  free  spirit." 

3.  The  active  spirit  of  religion,  where  it  is  in  the 
soul,  will  not  suffer  men  to  take  up  their  rest  in  mere 
innocency,  freedom  from  sin  ;  and  they  are  slothful 
souls  that  could  count  it  happiness  enough  to  be 
harmless.      I  doubt  men  are  much  mistaken  about 


175 

holiness  ;  it  is  more  than  mere  innocency,  or  free- 
dom from  the  guilt  or  power  of  sin,  it  is  not  a  nega- 
tive thing  ;  there  is  something  active,  noble,  divine, 
powerful,  in  true  religion.  A  soul  that  rightly 
understands  its  own  penury  and  self-insufficiency, 
and  the  emptiness  and  meanness  of  all  creature- 
good,  cannot  possibly  take  up  its  rest,  or  place  its 
happiness  in  any  thing  but  in  a  real  participation  of 
God  himself;  and  therefore  is  continually  making 
out  towards  that  God  from  whom  it  came,  and  is 
labouring  to  unite  itself  more  and  more  unto  him. 
Let  a  low-spirited,  fleshly-minded  Pharisee  take  up 
with  a  negative  holiness  and  happiness,  as  he  doth, 
"  God,  I  thank  thee,  that  I  am  not"  so  and  so  ;  a 
noble  and  high-spirited  Christian  cannot  take  up  his 
rest  in  any  negation  or  freedom  from  sin.  Every  godly 
soul  is  not  so  learned,  indeed,  as  to  be  able  to  de- 
scribe the  nature  and  proper  perfection  of  a  soul, 
and  to  tell  you  how  the  happiness  of  a  soul  consists, 
not  in  cessation  and  rest,  as  the  happiness  of  a  stone 
doth,  but  in  life,  and  power,  and  vigour,  as  the  hap- 
piness of  God  himself  doth  :  but  yet  the  spirit  of 
true  religion  is  so  excellent  and  powerful  in  every 
godly  soul,  that  it  is  still  carrying  it  to  the  fuller  en- 
joyment of  a  higher  good;  and  the  soul  doth  find 
and  feel  within  itself,  though  it  cannot  discourse 
philosophically  of  these  things,  that  though  it  were 
free  from  all  disturbance  of  sin  and  affliction  in  the 
world,  yet  still  it  wants  some  supreme  and  possible 
good  to  make  it  completely  happy,  and  so  bends  all 
its  power  thitherward.  This  is  the  description 
which  you  will  every  where  find  made  in  Scripture  of 
the  true  spirit  of  holiness,  which  hath  always  some- 


176 

thing  positive  and  divine  in  it,  as  **  Cease  to  do  evil, 
learn  to  do  well ;"  and  "  Put  ofF  the  old  man — put 
on  that  new  man,  which  after  God  is  created  in  righ- 
teousness and  true  holiness."  And,  accordingly,  a 
truly  godly  soul,  to  use  the  Apostle's  words,  though 
he  know  nothing  by  himself,  yet  doth  not  thereby 
count  himself  happy. 

4.  The  active  spirit  of  true  religion,  where  it  is 
in  the  soul,  will  not  suffer  men  to  take  up  their  rest 
in  some  measures  of  grace  received  ;  and  so  far  as 
the  soul  doth  so,  it  is  sluggish  and  less  active  than  it 
ought  to  be.  This,  indeed,  ofttimes  comes  to  pass, 
when  the  soul  is  under  some  distemper  of  proud  self- 
ishness, earthly-mindedness,  or  the  like  ;  or  is  less 
apprehensive  of  its  object  and  happiness  ;  as  it  seems 
to  have  been  the  case  of  the  spouse,  "I  have  put  off 
my  coat ;  how  shall  I  put  it  on  ?  I  have  washed  my 
feet;  how  shall  I  defile  them  ?"  Some  such  faint- 
ing fits,  languishings,  surfeitings,  insensibleness, 
must  be  allowed  to  be  in  the  godly  soul  during  its 
imprisoned  and  imperfect  state  :  but  we  must  not 
judge  ourselves  by  any  present  distempers,  or  infirmi- 
ties. The  nature  of  religion,  when  it  acts  the  soul 
rightly  and  powerfully,  is  to  carry  after  it  a  more 
lively  resemblance  of  God,  which  is  the  most  proper 
and  excellent  enjoyment  of  him.  A  mind  rightly 
and  actually  sound  is  most  sick  of  love ;  and  the  na- 
ture of  love  is,  not  to  know  when  it  is  near  enough 
to  its  object,  but  still  to  long  after  the  most  perfect 
conjunction  with  it.  This  well  of  water,  if  it  be  not 
violently  obstructed  for  a  time,  is  ever  springing  up 
till  it  be  swallowed  up  in  the  ocean  of  divine  love 
and  grace.      The  soul  that  is  rightly  acquainted  with 


177 

itself  and  its  God,  sees  something  still  wanting  in 
itself,  and  to  be  enjoyed  in  him,  which  makes  it 
that  it  cannot  be  at  rest,  but  is  still  springing  up 
into  him,  till  it  come  to  the  measure  of  the  stature 
of  the  fulness  of  its  Lord.  In  this  holy,  loving, 
longing,  striving,  active  temper,  we  find  the  great 
Apostle  :  "  Not  as  though  I  had  already  attained, 
either  were  already  perfect ;  but  I  follow  after,  if 
that  I  may  apprehend  that  for  which  also  I  am  ap- 
prehended of  Christ  Jesus.  Brethren,  I  count  not 
myself  to  have  apprehended :  but  this  one  thing  I 
do,  forgetting  those  things  which  are  behind,  and 
reaching  forth  unto  those  things  which  are  before, 
I  press  toward  the  mark,  for  the  prize  of  the  high 
calling  of  God  in  Christ  Jesus."  And  by  how 
much  the  more  of  divine  grace  any  soul  hath  drunk 
in,  the  more  thirsty  is  it  after  much  more. 

5.  The  active  spirit  of  true  religion,  where  it  is 
powerfully  seated  in  the  minds  of  men,  will  not  suf- 
fer them  to  settle  into  a  love  of  this  animal  life,  nor 
indeed  suffer  them  to  be  content  to  live  for  ever  in 
such  a  kind  of  body  as  this;  and  that  soul  is  in  a 
degree  lazy  and  slothful,  that  doth  not  desire  to  de- 
part and  be  with  his  Lord.  The  godly  soul  eyeing 
God  as  his  perfect  and  full  happiness,  and  finding 
that  his  being  in  the  body  doth  separate  him  from 
God,  keeps  him  in  a  poor  and  imperfect  state,  and 
hinders  his  blissful  communion  with  the  highest 
good,  groans  within  itself,  with  the  Apostle,  that 
"  mortality  were  swallowed  up  of  life."  I  know  not 
how  much,  but  I  think  he  hath  not  very  much  of 
God,  neither  sight  of  him,  nor  love  of  him,  that 
could  be  content  to  abide  for  ever  in  this  imperfect, 

H  3 


178  » 

mixed,  low  state,  and  never  be  perfected  in  the  full 
enjoyment  of  him.  And  it  seems,  that  they  in 
whom  the  love  of  God  is  rightly  predominant,  po- 
tent, flourishing,  do  also  look  earnestly  "  for  the 
mercy  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  unto  eternal  life,"  as 
without  doubt  they  ought  to  do:  "  What  manner  of 
persons  ought  ye  to  be  in  all  holy  conversation  and 
godliness,  looking  for  and  hasting  unto  the  coming 
of  the  day  of  God  !" 

Let  this  sufBce  by  way  of  general  reprehension. 

2.  More  particularly,  the  consideration  of  the 
active  nature  of  true  religion  may  well  serve  to  cor- 
rect a  mistake  about  that  noble  jrrace  of  faith.  How 
dishonourably  do  some  speak  of  this  excellent  and 
powerful  grace,  when  they  make  it  to  be  a  slothful, 
passive  thing,  an  idle  kind  of  waiting,  or  a  melan- 
cholic sitting  still;  where,  in  deed  and  in  truth,  it  is 
life  and  power.  Be  not  mistaken  in  so  high  and 
eminent  a  grace  :  true  faith  doth  not  only  accept  the 
imputed  righteousness  of  Christ  for  justification,  but 
by  a  lively  dependence  upon  God,  drinks  in  divine 
influences,  and  eagerly  draws  in  grace,  and  virtue, 
and  life,  from  the  fountain  of  grace,  for  its  more 
perfect  sanctification  :  and  for  this  cause,  I  think,  a 
purifying  virtue  is  ascribed  to  it,  Acts  xv.  9.  Faith 
is  not  a  lazy,  languid  thing,  content  to  wait  for  sal- 
vation till  the  world  to  come  ;  but  it  is  even  now 
gasping  after  it,  and  accomplishing  it  too  in  a  way  of 
mortification,  self-denial,  and  growing  up  in  God  :  it 
is  not  content  to  be  a  candidate  waiting  for  life  and 
happiness,  but  is  actually  drawing  down  heaven  into 
the  soul,  attracting  God  to  itself,  sucking  in  partici- 
pations of  divine  grace  and  image  into  the  soul :  its 


179 

motto  is  that  of  the  famous  painter,  "  No  day  with- 
out a  line  :"  it  longs  to  find  some  divine  lineament, 
some  line  of  God's  image  drawn  upon  the  soul  daily. 
Faith  is  a  giving  grace,  as  well  as  receiving  ;  it  gives 
up  the  whole  soul  to  God,  and  is  troubled  that  it  can 
give  him  no  more;  it  binds  over  the  soul  afresh  to 
God  every  day,  and  is  troubled  that  it  can  bind  it  no 
faster,  nor  closer  to  him.  The  believing  soul  is 
wearied  because  of  murderers,  murdering  loves,  lusts, 
cares,  earthly  pleasures,  and  calls  mightily  upon 
Christ,  to  come  and  take  vengeance  upon  them  :  it 
is  wearied  because  of  those  robbers  that  are  daily 
stealing  away  precious  time  and  affections  from  God, 
which  are  due  unto  him,  and  calls  upon  Christ,  to 
come  and  scourge  these  thieves,  these  buyers  and 
sellers  out  of  his  own  temple.  In  a  word,  the  godly 
soul  is  active,  and  faith  is  the  very  life  and  action  of 
the  soul  itself. 

Lastly,  Let  me  exhort  all  Christians  from  hence 
to  be  zealous,  to  be  fervent  in  spirit,  serving  the 
Lord,  and  longing  after  him  :  "  Stir  up  the  grace  of 
God  that  is  in  you  :"  quench  not,  that  is,  blow  up, 
inflame  the  Spirit  of  God  in  you.  Awake,  Chris- 
tian soul,  out  of  thy  lethargy,  and  rejoice,  as  the  sun, 
to  run  the  race  that  is  set  before  thee,  and,  as  a 
mighty  man  refreshed  with  wine,  to  fight  thy  spirit- 
ual battles  against  the  armies  of  uncircumcised,  pro- 
fane, and  earthly  concupiscences,  love,  and  passions. 
Eye  God  as  your  centre,  the  enjoyment  of  him  as 
the  happiness,  and  full  conformity  to  him  as  the  per- 
fection, of  your  souls;  and  then  say.  Awake,  arise, 
O  my  soul,  and  hide  not  thy  hand  in  thy  bosom, 
but  throw  thyself  into  the  very  heart  and  bosom  of 


180 

God:  lay  hold  upon  eternal  life.  Again,  observe 
how  all  things  in  the  world  pursue  their  several  per- 
fections with  unwearied  and  impatient  longings,  and 
say.  Come,  my  soul,  and  do  thou  likewise.  Con- 
verse not  with  God,  so  much  under  the  notion  of  a 
lawgiver,  but  as  with  love  itself;  nor  with  his  com- 
mands, as  having  authority  in  them,  but  as  ha^^n^ 
goodness,  and  life,  and  sweetness  in  them.  Again, 
consider  your  poverty  as  creatures,  and  how  utterly 
impossible  it  is  for  you  to  be  happy  in  yourselves, 
and  say.  Arise,  O  my  soul,  from  off  this  weak  and 
tottering  foundation,  and  build  thyself  upon  God  ; 
cease  pinchinor  thvself  within  the  straits  of  self-suffi- 
ciencies,  and  come,  stretch  thyself  upon  infinite 
goodness  and  fulness.  Again,  pore  not  upon  your 
attainments :  do  not  sit  brooding  upon  your  present 
accomplishments,  but  forget  the  things  that  are  be- 
hind, and  say.  Awake,  O  my  soul ;  there  is  yet 
infinitely  much  more  in  God:  pursue  after  him  for 
it,  till  tbiOu  hast  gotten  as  much  as  a  created  being  is 
capable  to  receive  of  the  divine  nature.  In  a  word, 
take  heed  you  live  not  by  the  lowest  examples, 
(which  thing  keeps  many  in  a  dwindling  state  all 
their  days)  but  by  the  highest :  read  over  the  spouse's 
temper,  **  sick  of  love  ;"  David's  temper,  **  waiting 
for  God  more  than  thev  that  watch  for  the  morning — 
breaking  in  heart  for  the  longing  that  he  had  to  the 
Lord,"  and  say.  Arise,  O  mv  soul,  and  live  as  high 
as  the  highest ;  it  is  no  fault  to  desire  to  be  as  good, 
as  holy,  as  happy  as  an  angel  of  God.  "  And  thus, 
O  my  tioul,  open  thy  mouth  wide,  and  God  hath  pro- 
mised to  fill  thee  I" 


181 


CHAPTER  VI. 

I'hat  rdi'^ion  is  a  lasting  and persecering  principle  in  the 
souls  of  men.  The  grounds  of  thi^s  perseverance  as- 
si'yned ;  Jirst,  negatively,  it  doth  not  arise  from  the 
absolute  impossibility  of  losing  of  grace  la  the  creature, 
nor  from  the  strength  of  mansfree-vcilL     Secondly,  af- 

Jimiatively,  the  grace  of  election  cannot  fail.  The 
grace  of jir^t  if  cation  is  neither  suspended  nor  violated  : 
the  covenant  of  grace  is  everlasting  :  the  Mediator  of 
this  covenant  lives  for  ever:  the  promises  of  it  immu- 
table ;  the  righteousness  brought  in  by  the  Messiah  ever- 
lasting. An  objection  answered  concerning  a  regenerate 
mans  veil  ling  his  oven  apostacy.  An  objection  an- 
svcered,  draivnfrom  the  falls  of  saints  in  Scripture.     A 

■  discovery  of  counterfeit  religion,  and  the  shameful  apos- 
tacy of  false  professors.  An  encouragement  to  all  holy 
diligence,  from  the  consider  atian  of  this  doctrine. 

I  COME  now  to  the  thiid  property  of  true  religion 
contained  in  these  words, and  that  is,  the  perseverance 
of  it.  And  here  the  foundation  of  my  following 
discourse  shall  be  this  proposition, 

"  True  religion  is  a  lasting  and  persevering  prin- 
ciple in  the  souls  of  good  men."  It  is  said  of  the 
hypocritical  Jews,  that  their  goodness  was  as  the 
"  early  dew,  that  soon  passes  away."  But  that  prin- 
ciple of  goodness  which  God  planteth  in  the  souls  of 
his  people,  is  compared  to  a  well  of  water,  evermore 
sending  forth  fresh  streams,  and  incessantly  spring- 
ing up  towards  God  himself.  Our  Saviour  compares 
hypocritical  professors    to   *'seed  sown  upon  stony 


18^ 

ground,"  that  springs  up  indeed,  but  soon  withers 
away,  but  this  well  of  water,  which  is  in  the  sincere 
godly  soul,  springs  up  into  everlasting  life  ;  it 
springs  and  is  never  dried  up ;  "  it  is  a  spring  of 
water,  whose  waters  fail  not,"  or  lies  not,  as  it  is 
expressed  by  the  Prophet,  Isa.  Iviii.  11.  or  if  you 
look  upon  it  under  the  metaphor  of  oil,  as  it  is  some- 
times expressed  in  Scripture,  then  it  is  truly  that  oil 
that  faileth  not,  whereof  the  widow  of  Sarepta's 
cruise  of  oil  was  but  a  scant  resemblance.  Amongst 
other  texts  which  the  learned  Dr.  Arrowsmith 
brings  to  prove  the  infallibility  of  the  perseverance 
of  saints,  this  saying  of  our  Saviour's,  which  is  the 
subject  of  my  whole  discourse,  is  one  ;  who  also 
quoteth  Theophylact  for  the  same  opinion,  namely, 
the  perseverance  of  this  principle,  yea,  and  some- 
what more,  even  the  growth  and  multiplication  of  it. 
To  the  same  purpose  the  same  excellent  author 
quoteth  John  x.  27,  28.  "My  sheep  hear  my  voice, 
and  I  know  them,  and  they  follow  me  :  and  I  give 
unto  them  eternal  life;  and  they  shall  never  perish, 
neither  shall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand." 
In  which  words  our  Saviour  strongly  asserteth  the 
certain  glorification  of  his  elect,  by  using  a  verb  of 
the  present  tense,  "  I  give  unto  them  eternal  life;" 
he  will  as  certainly  give  it  them,  as  if  they  had  it 
already;  except  the  words  do  imply  that  they  have 
it  already,  namely,  the  beginnings  of  it,  even  in  this 
life  :  and  if  so,  then  the  words  do  yet  more  strongly 
assert  the  doctrine  of  perseverance  ;  for  how  can  that 
life  be  called  eternal,  which  maybe  ended  ?  In  the 
same  words,  he  seemeth  purposely  to  prevent  fears, 
and  before-hand  to  answer  objections,   by  securing 


183 

them  both  from  internal  and  external  enemies ;  "  they 
shall  never  perish,"  namely,  of  their  own  accord  ; 
"  neither  shall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand  :"  for 
the  word  in  the  original  is  such  as  doth  secure  them 
from  the  power  of  devils  as  well  as  men  ;  and  what  is 
said  of  the  church  in  general,  is  also  certain  con- 
cerning every  true  member  of  it  in  particular  ;  "  the 
gates  of  hell  shall  not  prevail  against  it."  Christ 
hath  not  only  chosen  and  ordained  his  people  that 
they  should  be  holy,  but  also  that  they  should  per- 
severe in  holiness ;  not  only  that  they  should  bring 
forth  good  fruits,  but  that  their  "fruits  should  re- 
main." Hence  they  are  said  to  be  "  born  again  of 
incorruptible  seed,  which  liveth  and  abideth  for  ever." 
And  he  that  is  born  of  God,  is  said  to  have  the  seed 
of  God  in  him,  and  remaining  in  him,  and  so  remain- 
ing in  him  as  that  he  shall  never  again  commit  sin, 
that  is,  shall  not  become  any  more  ungodly,  1  John 
iii.  9.  To  all  which  may  be  added  that  strong  and 
strengthening  text,  "  I  am  persuaded  that  neither 
death,  nor  life,  nor  angels,  nor  principalities,  nor 
powers,  nor  things  present,  nor  things  to  come,  nor 
height,  nor  depth,  nor  any  other  creature,  shall  be 
able  to  separate  us  from  the  love  of  God  which  is  in 
Christ  Jesus  our  Lord:"  which  one  text  doth  ex- 
cellently assert  both  those  high  and  comfortable  doc- 
trines of  assurance  and  perseverance;  and  they  are 
worthy  to  be  honoured  in  the  church  of  God,  who 
have  vindicated  it  from  the  corrupt  glosses  and  cavils 
of  the  Papists,  who  have  endeavoured  to  rob  Chris- 
tians of  the  sweetness  which  may  be  drawn  out  of 
that  pregnant  honey-comb.  In  a  word,  let  the  holy 
Psalmist's   experience  of  the   supporting   virtue   of 


184 

this  doctrine  shut  up  the  proof  of  it  at  present,  who 
found  himself  wonderfully  comforted  by  it  after  all 
his  fears  and  falls,  where  he  sings  of  the  loving- 
kindness  of  the  Lord  in  time  past ;  "  Thou  hast 
holden  me  by  my  right  hand  ;"  and,  at  present,  "  I 
am  continually  with  thee;"  that  is,  thou  art  conti- 
nually with  me ;  and,  with  the  like  courage  and 
confidence,  he  speaks  of  all  time  to  come,  "  Thou 
shalt  guide  me  with  thy  counsel,  and  afterwards  re- 
ceive me  to  glory."  Now,  although  the  doctrine  of 
the  perseverance  of  saints  be  thus  fully  and  clearly 
laid  down  in  Scripture,  yet  it  is  easy  to  err,  in  giving 
an  account  of  it,  and  of  the  grounds  of  it.  And, 
therefore,  I  shall  proceed  to  the  grounds  of  it,  which  . 
I  shall  briefly  lay  down  negatively  and  affirmatively. 
First,  negatively. 

1.  The  certain  perseverance  of  the  saints  in  a 
state  of  grace,  doth  not  arise  from  the  absolute  im- 
possibility of  losing  of  grace  in  the  creature:  it  is 
one  thing  to  affirm,  that  grace  shall  not  be  lost,  and 
another  thing  to  affirm,  that  it  is  absolutely  unlose- 
able.  God  hath  told  us,  that  the  world  shall  no 
more  be  drowned,  but  who  will  say  for  all  that,  that 
it  is  not  in  itself  capable  of  drowning  ?  Whilst  we 
think  to  honour  God  by  asserting  the  permanency 
of  grace,  we  must  take  heed  lest  we  make  a  god  of 
grace,  and  so  dishonour  him.  Grace,  as  it  is  in 
God,  in  the  fountain,  which  divines  sometimes  call 
active  grace,  is  eternal  and  unchangeable,  not  sub- 
ject to  any  defection  or  alteration.  There  is  no 
time,  or  place,  or  case,  wherein  the  love  and  good- 
ness of  God  faileth  towards  his  elect.  It  is  one  and 
the  same  in  God  towards  his  people,  even  when  they 


185 

are  under  the  greatest  desertions,  and  have  no  sense 
at  all  of  it.  We  must  not  say  the  sun  is  grown 
dark,  as  oft  as  a  dark  cloud  interposeth  between  it 
and  our  sight.  Yea,  however,  it  be  most  certain, 
that  the  pure  and  holy  God  hateth  sin  even  in  his 
elect,  yet  it  is  also  certain,  that  the  good  and  gra- 
cious God  loveth  the  persons  of  his  saints,  even  at 
what  time  they  sin  :  "  For  the  love  of  God  towards 
the  regenerate,"  saith  Davenant,  "  is  not  founded 
upon  their  perfect  purity  and  holiness,  but  upon 
Christ  Jesus  the  Mediator,  who  hath  transferred 
their  sins  upon  himself,  and  so  hath  redeemed  them 
from  the  wrath  of  God."  The  love  and  kindness  of 
God  towards  his  people  is  absolutely  unchange- 
able and  everlasting.  But  grace  in  the  creature, 
itself  being  a  creature,  is  not  simply  and  absolutely 
unchangeable  or  unloseable :  there  is  a  possibility  of 
losing  inherent  grace,  if  it  be  considered  in  itself; 
yea,  and  it  would  actually  be  lost  and  perish,  but 
that  God  upholdeth  his  people  with  one  hand,  whilst 
he  exerciseth  them  with  the  other.  Though,  with 
all  my  might,  I  desire  to  maintain  the  perseverance 
of  the  saints,  yet  I  dare  not,  as  the  manner  of  some 
is,  ground  it  upon  the  firmness  and  rootedness  of 
faith  in  man,  but  upon  the  goodness  and  faithfulness 
of  God,  which  is  such  towards  his  elect,  that  he  will 
"  keep  them  by  his  mighty  power  through  faith  unto 
salvation,"  as  the  Apostle  expresseth  it. 

2.  It  doth  not  arise  from  the  strength  of  man's 
free-will,  as  if  he  were,  of  himself,  able  to  keep  him- 
self for  ever  in  a  state  of  grace,  when  God  had  once 
put  him  into  it.  The  saints,  indeed,  shall  for  ever 
will  their  own  perseverance,  as  we  shall  see  after- 


186 

wards;  but  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  them  even  this 
will.  Man's  own  free-will,  or  self-sufficiency,  is  so 
far  from  being  the  ground  of  his  perseverance  in 
grace  and  holiness,  that  I  do  believe  nothing  in 
the  world  is  more  directly  contrary  to  grace,  than 
habitual  and  predominant  self-confidence;  and,  even 
in  the  saints  themselves,  there  is  nothing  that  tends 
more  towards  their  apostacy,  than  this  self-conceit 
and  confidence  of  their  own  strength,  as  something 
distinct  from  God,  though  the  same  be  not  habitual 
and  predominant;  for  they  themselves  are  many 
times  sadly  weakened  and  set  back  by  that  means, 
and  suffer  many  lamentable  spiritual  decays.  This 
seems  to  have  sometimes  been  the  case  of  Hezekiah, 
and  of  David  too,  and  had  like  to  have  been  the  case 
of  Paul,  when  he  had  so  much  abounded  in  revela- 
tions, 2  Cor.  xii.  7.  Sure  it  is,  that  nothing  doth 
more  estrange  the  hearts  of  God's  people  from  him, 
nor  bind  up  the  influences  of  divine  grace  and  fa- 
vour from  them,  than  this  security,  confidence  in  the 
strength  of  their  own  wills,  and  vain  opinion  of  self- 
sufficiency,  which  thing  the  ead  experience  of  holy 
Christians  doth  attest:  not  only  the  apostles  James 
and  Peter,  but  indeed  all  the  true  disciples  of  Christ 
in  the  world,  agree  to  that  proverb,  **  God  resisteth 
the  proud,  but  giveth  grace  to  the  humble."  In  a 
word,  though  "  to  do  justly,  and  to  love  mercy," 
have  indeed  much  of  religion  in  them,  yet  unto  per- 
severance, it  is  also  required  that  a  man  deny  him- 
self and  the  sufficiency  of  his  own  free-will;  and,  in 
the  prophet's  expression,  "  walk  humbly  with  his 
God."  You  know  whose  boast  it  was,  "  Though 
all  men  shall  be  offisnded  because  of  thee,  yet  will  I 


187 

never  be  offended;"  and  again,  "  Though  I  should 
die  with  thee,  yet  will  I  not  deny  thee;"  and  what 
was  the  lamentable  consequence  of  this  self-con- 
fidence, you  know  likewise.  Wherefore,  let  him 
that  standeth  by  his  own  strength,  take  heed  lest  he 
fall. 

I  proceed  now  to  speak  something  affirmatively 
concerning  the  grounds  of  the  saints'  perseverance 
in  a  state  of  grace.  I  have  already  showed  you  that 
active  grace  is  absolutely  of  an  immutable  nature; 
and  although  passive  grace  be  not  so,  yet  it  shall  not 
be  totally  and  finally  lost.      For, 

1.  The  grace  of  election  cannot  fail.  When  I 
think  of  that  uncertain,  conditional,  mutable  decree 
of  saving  men,  v/hich  some  ascribe  to  God,  who  is 
infinite  and  eternal  wisdom  and  oneness,  methinks  I 
may,  with  great  reason,  apply  the  Apostle's  words, 
sp6ken  concerning  himself,  and  say,  when  God  is 
thus  graciously  minded  to  elect  his  people  to  eternal 
life,  "  Doth  he  use  lightness ;  or  the  things  that  he 
purposeth,  doth  he  purpose  according  to  the  flesh," 
after  the  manner  of  men,  who  are  unsteady  and 
wavering  in  their  determinations?  Is  there  with 
him  "  Yea,  yea,  and  nay,  nay?"  What  doth  the 
Apostle  mean  by  those  words,  "  The  foundation  of 
God  standeth  sure,  having  this  seal,  the  Lord 
knoweth  them  that  are  his?"  The  Apostle,  in  the 
foregoing  verse,  having  related  the  apostacy  of  Hy- 
meneus  and  Philetus,  and  the  overthrow  of  some 
men's  faith  by  their  means,  immediately  subjoins 
this  comfortable  doctrine  of  the  steadfastness  and 
firmness  of  God's  decrees  of  election,  to  prevent  the 
offence  which  the  saints  might  take  against  the  falls 


188 

of  others,  and  to  relieve  them  against  the  fears  that 
they  might  possibly  conceive  concerning  their  own 
perseverance;  q.  d.  let  no  one  be  offended,  as  if  the 
salvation  of  the  elect  were  uncertain.  It  appears  that 
these  men  were  none  of  God's  elect,  because  they  j| 
are  seduced,  and  the  faith  that  they  had  is  over- 
thrown. And  as  for  your  part  who  are  elected,  fear 
not  lest  ye  also  should  apostatise;  it  is  not  possible 
to  deceive  the  elect  in  the  necessary  and  fundamen- 
tal truths  of  the  gospel:  fear  not  lest  ye  also  should 
be  drawn  away  by  the  error  of  the  wicked  unto  per- 
dition; "  for  the  foundation  of  God  standeth  sure," 
&c.  In  which  sentence,  says  Dr.  Arrowsmith,  al- 
most every  word  breathes  firmness  and  performance  : 
nothing  is  more  sure  in  a  building  than  the  founda- 
tion ;  that  you  may  not  doubt  of  that,  it  is  also  called 
sure,  or  steady.  This  sure  foundation  is  said  to 
stand,  that  is,  say  the  Dutch  annotators,  abideth 
steadfast  and  certain  ;  for  it  is  the  foundation,  not  of 
man's  laying,  but  of  God,  with  whom  there  is  "  no 
variableness  nor  shadow  of  change."  Yea,  further, 
this  foundation  is  said  to  be  sealed :  now,  what  is 
accounted  more  firm  and  sure  than  those  things  which 
are  sealed  with  a  seal,  especially  such  a  seal  as  thisj 
'*  The  Lord  knoweth  who  are  his  ?"  Though  the 
wisest  of  men  are  oft  deceived  in  their  opinions,  yet 
the  knowledge  of  God  is  infinitely  infallible.  Ac- 
cording to  that  of  Austin,  "  If  any  of  the  elect 
perish,  God  is  deceived:  but  God  is  not  deceived; 
therefore,  none  of  the  elect  can  perish,  for  the  Lord 
knoweth  who  are  his."  When  Samuel,  indeed, 
went  to  separate  one  of  the  sons  of  Jesse  from  the 
rest  of  his  brethren  to  be  king  over  Israel,  he  first 


189 

pitched  upon  Eliab,  and  afterwards  rejected  him; 
but  God  is  guilty  of  no  such  inconstancy  in  that, 
eternal  election  which  he  makes  of  men  to  be  kings 
and  priests  unto  himself.  Those  several  acts  of 
divine  grace  mentioned,  Rom.  viii.  29,  30.  though 
they  be  many  links,  yet  run  one  into  another, 
and  all,  from  first  to  last,  make  up  but  one  chain; 
concerning  which  divine  and  mysterious  concatena- 
tion, one  may  boldly  use  that  peremptory  prohibition 
which  our  Lord  useth  concerning  a  less  indissoluble 
conjunction,  "  What  God  hath  joined  together,  let 
no  man  put  asunder.'' 

2.  The  grace  of  justification  is  neither  suspended 
nor  violated ;  it  admits  neither  of  intercision  nor 
rescision,  neither  of  pause  nor  period.  There  is 
nothing  between  justification  and  glorification  in  the 
Apostle's  sentence,  but  the  copulative  and^  Rom.  viii. 
30.  there  is  nothing  between  a  justified  soul  and 
glory,  but  a  mere  passage  into  it.  May  we  be  al- 
lowed to  triumph  with  the  holy  Apostle  in  the  same 
chapter,  "  Who  shall  bring  an  accusation  against 
God's  elect  ?  It  is  God  that  justifieth."  But 
what  though  you  be  at  present  justified,  may  some 
say,  Is  there  not  a  possibility  of  being  unjustified 
again  ?  May  not  the  righteousness  of  the  righteous 
be  taken  from  him  ?  may  you  not  be  condemned 
hereafter  ?  But  "  who  is  he  that  shall  condemn  us  ? 
It  is  Christ  that  died."  As  if  the  Apostle  had  said. 
The  love  of  God  towards  his  justified  ones  is  not 
grounded  upon  their  purity,  loveliness,  or  perfection, 
but  it  is  founded  upon  their  Redeemer;  which  Re- 
deemer hath  done  enough,  both  to  bring  them  into 
a  justified  state,  and  to  keep  them  in  it  for  ever.    It 


190 

is  Christ  that  died  to  free  thera  from  sin;  it  is  Christ 
that  is  risen  again  for  their  justification ;  "  who  is 
at  the  right  hand  of  God,"  to  deliver  them  from  all 
their  enemies,  that  maketh  intercession  for  them,  for 
their  perseverance.  God  loves  nothing  but  the  com- 
munications of  himself.  So  far  as  anything  partakes 
of  the  divine  image,  so  far  it  partakes  of  divine  fa- 
vour and  complacency;  so  that,  whilst  a  good  man 
bears  a  resemblance  to  God,  so  long  he  shall  be  ac- 
cepted of  him,  and  embraced  in  the  arms  of  his  love; 
and  that  shall  be  for  ever,  as  we  shall  see  under  the 
next  head.  Until  you  have  blotted  out  all  the 
image  and  superscription  of  God  out  of  a  godly 
soul;  until  you  have  razed  out  all  the  stamps  and 
impressions  of  goodness;  in  a  word,  until  you  have 
rendered  him  wicked  and  ungodly,  you  cannot  aban- 
don him  from  the  embraces  of  God:  which  thing 
men  and  devils  shall  never  be  able  to  do,  as  I  have 
partly  showed  already,  and  shall  yet  show  more  at 
large. 

It  is  true,  indeed,  that  Adam  fell  from  a  just 
state,  though  not  from  a  justified  state;  for  that 
supposes  sin  formerly  committed.  But  this  is  no 
great  wonder;  for  he  had  his  righteousness  in  him- 
self, and  his  happiness  in  his  own  keeping:  but  the 
condition  of  believers  is  now  more  safe  and  firm,  as 
depending  not  upon  any  created  power  or  will,  but 
upon  the  infinite  and  effectual  help  and  strength  of  a 
Mediator,  which  will  never  fail. 

3.  The  covenant  of  grace  is  everlasting.  It  hath 
pleased  God  to  enter  into  a  covenant  of  grace  and 
peace  with  every  believing  soul;  which,  I  suppose, 
I  need  not  go  about  to  prove,  all  Christians  acknow- 


191 

ledging  it,  though  they  do  not  all  agree  in  one  no- 
tion of  it.  Now,  this  covenant,  wherein  God  en- 
gages himself  to  be  their  God  (for  that  is  the  sum- 
mary contents  of  it  on  his  part)  is  expressly  called 
by  the  Apostle,  "  the  everlasting  covenant."  And 
again,  Jer.  xxxii.  40.  "  I  will  make  an  everlasting 
covenant  with  them ;"  which  covenant,  and  the  ever- 
lastingness  of  it,  are  fully  explained  in  the  following 
words,  *'  I  will  not  turn  away  from  them  to  do  them 
good;"  the  inviolable  nature  of  this  covenant  is  also 
expressly  asserted  in  that  famous  place,  Jer.  xxxi. 
31,  32.  "  I  will  make  a  new  covenant  with  the 
house  of  Israel,  not  according  to  the  covenant  that 
I  made  with  their  fathers,  (which  my  covenant  they 
brake ;")  as  if  he  had  said,  I  will  make  a  covenant 
that  shall  not  be  subject  to  breaches.  In  the  former 
covenant  with  their  fathers,  I  gave  them  laws  to 
keep,  which  they  kept  not;  but,  in  the  new  cove- 
nant, I  will  give  them  also  a  heart  to  keep  my  laws; 
it  is  not  possible  that  covenant  should  be  broken, 
one  principal  part  of  which  is  a  heart  both  able  and 
willing  to  keep  it.  The  similitudes  which  God 
useth  in  the  35th,  36th,  and  37th  verses  of  that  same 
chapter,  do  also  further  confirm  and  illustrate  this 
doctrine  of  the  everlastingness  of  this  covenant  of 
grace. 

Under  this  head  let  me  glance  at  three  things. 

1.  The  Mediator  of  this  covenant  lives  for  ever, 
and  lives  to  make  intercession  for  believers,  and 
from  this  the  Apostle  argues,  that  they  shall  be 
saved  to  the  uttermost,  or  evermore,  as  the  margin 
reads  it.  From  this,  also,  the  Apostle  argues  the 
unchangeable  state  of  believers,  as  we  observed  be- 


192 

fore,  out  of  Rom.  viii.  34.  Christ  Jesus  is  always 
heard  and  accepted  of  the  Father,  in  all  the  requests 
that  he  maketh  to  Iiim,  according  to  that  in  John  xi, 
41,  42.  **  Jesus  lifted  up  his  eyes,  and  said,  Father, 
I  thank  thee  that  thou  hast  heard  me ;  and  I  know 
that  thou  hearest  me  always."  If  these  things  be 
so,  then  the  perseverance  of  the  saints  is  built  upon 
a  most  certain  foundation,  is  secured  against  the 
very  gates  of  hell ;  for  Christ  hath  prayed  for  them 
that  they  may  be  where  he  is,  and,  in  the  meantime, 
that  they  may  be  kept  "  from  the  evil,"  and  that 
their  "  faith  fail  not." 

The  promises  of  this  covenant  are  immutable, 
"  they  are  in  Christ  Jesus  yea  and  amen ;"  as  if 
one  should  say  in  Latin,  Cerlo  ccrtiora,  '  perfectly 
sure  and  certain.'  God,  who  is  truth  itself,  will  not, 
cannot  be  unto  his  people  as  a  liar,  or  "  as  waters 
that  fail,"  as  the  prophet's  phrase  is;  the  infinite 
fountain  of  grace  and  truth  cannot  possibly  become 
like  one  of  the  brooks  which  Job  speaks  of,  which 
seem  to  be  full  of  water,  and  are  so  at  a  certain 
winter  season ;  but  when  the  poor  scorched  Arabian 
comes  to  look  for  water  in  summer,  he  goes  away 
ashamed,  because  they  are  now  vanished,  they  are 
consumed  out  of  their  place.  Now,  the  promise  is 
concerning  not  only  grace,  but  the  final  perseverance 
of  it :  if  he  promise  pardoning  grace,  it  is  in  these 
full  and  satisfying  expressions,  "  I  will  remember 
their  sin  (any  one  of  their  sins)  no  more."  If  he 
promise  purging  and  purifying  grace,  it  is  in  the  like 
amplitude  of  phrase,  "  that  they  may  fear  me  for 
ever;"  and,  again,  "they  shall  not  depart  from  me," 
with  many  other  places  of  like  importance. 


193 

3,  The  righteousness  brought  in  by  this  Media- 
tor is  "  an  everlasting  righteousness,"  as  it  is  ex- 
pressly called,  Dan.  ix.  24.  by  which  I  do  not  un- 
derstand the  righteousness  of  justification,  (which 
was  always  one  and  the  same,  and  there  was  never 
any  righteousness  of  that  kind  temporary  or  fading) 
but  the  righteousness  of  real  internal  sanctification, 
in  opposition  to  that  positive  and  temporary  righte- 
ousness, which  depended  upon  the  pleasure  of  God 
that  did  prescribe  it.  This  righteousness  brought 
in  and  advanced  by  Christ,  (who,  in  a  powerful  and 
vital  vvay,  dispenseth  the  same  by  his  Holy  Spirit 
unto  the  minds  and  souls  of  men,)  is  not  only  true 
and  inward,  in  opposition  to  the  Pharisaical,  which 
was  an  external  conformity  only,  but  it  is  of  an  ever- 
lasting and  unchangeable  nature,  as  being  grounded 
upon,  and  indeed  conform.able  to  eternal  and  un- 
changeable truth,  in  opposition  to  that  temporary 
kind  of  righteousness  which  was  grounded  upon 
positive  laws,  and  the  arbitrary  commands  of  God, 
if  I  may  so  call  them.  This  eternal  righteousness 
is  by  Christ  Jesus,  the  Prince  of  life,  put  into  the 
very  souls  of  men,  and,  being  a  plant  of  his  planting, 
shall  never  be  plucked  up.  We  read,  indeed,  in 
the  prophet  Ezekiel,  that  the  glory  of  God  de- 
parted out  of  the  temple  made  with  hands;  but  this 
glory  of  God,  his  image,  shall  never  depart  out  of 
the  living  temple,  the  souls  of  good  men,  having 
once  powerfully  displayed  itself  there.  And  there- 
fore God  is  said  to  dwell  in  the  souls  of  his  people, 
in  opposition  to  a  wayfaring  man,  "  who  turneth  in  to 
tarry  for  a  night."  God  indeed  hath  promised,  that 
it  shall  be  said  to  them  that  were  not  his  people^ 

I  38 


19  i 

"  Ye  are  the  sons  of  the  livinfj  God,"  but  never  on 
the  contrary;  he  hath  no  where  threatened  them  that 
are  the  sons  of  the  living  God,  that  it  shall  at  any 
time  be  said  to  them,  ye  are  not  my  people.  True 
indeed,  as  to  external  profession,  church-member- 
ship, mere  covenant  holiness,  and  outward  com- 
munion, God  doth  many  times  disinherit  and  reject 
them  that  were  so  his  people :  but,  as  to  true  £;odli- 
ness,  participation  of  the  divine  image,  internal  and 
spiritual  communion,  we  may  confidently  sa}^,  with 
the  Apostle  to  the  Corintliians,  "  God  is  faithful, 
by  whom  ye  were  called  unto  the  fellowship  of  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord ;"  or,  with  the  same 
Apostle  to  the  Thessalonians,  "  Faithful  is  he  that 
calleth  you,  who  also  will  do  it."  Do  what?  why, 
that  which  he  was  speaking  of,  and  praying  for, 
namely,  "  Preserve  spirit,  and  soul,  and  body,  blame- 
less unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ," 

I  conclude  then,  that  grace  in  the  creature  is  a 
participation  of  him  who  is  essential  and  perfect  grace 
and  goodness ;  a  communication  made  by  him  of  his 
holy  nature,  which  becomes  a  living  principle  in  the 
souls  of  men;  a  fountain  sending  forth  a  continued 
stream  of  holy  dispositions  and  affections  without  in- 
tercision  or  cessation:  though  these  streams  run  some- 
times higher,  sometimes  lower,  sometimes  swifter, 
sometimes  slower,  yet  they  are  never  v/holly  dried 
up  as  the  brooks  of  Tema  were.  For,  where  God 
hath  once  opened  a  fountain  in  the  soul,  he  feeds  it 
with  fresh  supplies  from  himself,  as  a  fountain  itself 
would  dry  up,  if  it  were  not  nourished  by  the  sup- 
plies of  subterraneous  waters.  The  perseverance 
of  grace  depends  purely  upon  the  supports  and  sup- 


195 

plies  of  uncreated  essential  life  and  goodness.  But 
how  do  we  know  that  God  will  certainly  afford  these 
supplies?  We  build  upon  his  goodness  and  love  in 
Christ  towards  his  elect,  which  is  infinite  and  un- 
speakable;  and  upon  his  faithfulness  in  accomplish- 
ing his  promise,  namely,  that  *'  he  will  never  leave 
nor  forsake  them,"  that  "  he  will  keep  them  by  his 
power  unto  salvation."  They  that  are  of  the  number 
of  God's  holy  and  chosen  ones,  shall,  no  doubt,  con- 
tinue of  that  number  according  to  that  in  1  John  ii. 
19.  They  that  are  truly  in  Christ  shall  abide  in  him. 
The  seed  of  God  remainetli  in  the  godly,  and  they 
cannot  sin,  because  they  are  born  of  God.  "  He 
that  is  begotten  of  God  keepeth  himself,  and  that 
wicked  one  toucheth  hira  not."  What  can  be  more 
express  and  ample  than  that  consolatory  promise  of 
our  Lord,  made  to  his  poor  frail  sheep,  "  I  give  unto 
them  eternal  life;  and  they  shall  never  perish,  neither 
shall  any  pluck  them  out  of  my  hand." 

But  some  one  may  say,  perhaps,  what  if  man  will 
apostatize?  What  if  the  saints  themselves  will 
forsake  God?  Will  he  not  then  say  of  them  as  the 
Apostle  of  the  unbelieving  husband,  *•  If  they  will 
depart,  let  them  depart  ?"  Will  not  God  forsake 
them  that  forsake  him  ? 

Ans.  Yes,  God  will  forsake  them  that  forsake 
him;  but  they  never  shall  forsake  him:  they  being 
rightly  renewed  after  the  image  of  God,  and  per- 
fectly overpowered  by  his  grace,  shall  never  will  any 
such  departure:  "  I  will  betroth  thee  unto  me  for 
ever."  '*  It  is  certain,"  says  Dr.  Arrowsmith,  "  that 
God  will  condemn  all  impenitent  sinners;  but  it  is  as 
certain  that  all  justified  and  regenerate  sinners  shall 

1  2 


196 

repent ; — this  always  occurs  through  the  influence  of 
the  Spirit."  It  seeras  unreasonable  to  demand,  what 
if  man  himself  will  apostatize?  seeing  he  is,  by  the 
grace  of  God,  so  renewed  in  his  will,  and  put  into 
such  a  condition,  that  he  cannot  will  any  such  thing.  ■ 
*'  God  doth  not  give  unto  his  saints,"  saith  Austin, 
"  only  such  help,  without  which  they  could  not  per- 
severe if  they  would  (which  w^as  that  which  he  gave 
Adam:)  but  he  also  worketh  in  them  the  will:  that 
because  they  shall  not  persevere  except  they  both 
can  and  will,  his  bountiful  grace  bestoweth  upon 
them  both  the  can  and  the  will:  for  their  will  is  so 
inflamed  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  that  they  therefore 
can,  because  they  so  will,  they  therefore  so  will,  be- 
cause God  worketh  in  them  to  will."  Neither  is  it 
any  disparagement  or  injury  to  the  freedom  of  man's 
will,  that  it  should  be  overpowered  by  divine  grace, 
and  determined  only  to  that  which  is  good.  Tiie 
indifFerency  and  fluctuation  of  the  will  of  man  is  in- 
deed the  imperfection  of  it;  and  the  more  God  re- 
veals himself  to  the  soul,  as  the  chiefest  good,  the 
more  this  indifferency  of  the  will  is  destroyed,  and 
the  faculty  is  determined;  not  by  being  constrained, 
but  indeed  perfected.  Oh  unhnppy  liberty,  for  a 
soul  to  be  indifferently  affected  towards  its  own  hap- 
piness, and  to  be  free  to  choose  its  own  misery  ! 
The  noblest  freedom  in  the  world  is,  when  a  soul, 
being  delivered  from  its  hesitancies,  and  healed  of 
its  indifferences,  is  carried  like  a  ship,  with  spread 
sails  and  powerful  winds,  in  a  most  speedy,  cheerful, 
and  steady  course  into  its  own  harbour,  into  the 
arms  and  embraces  of  its  own  object.  The  grace  of 
God  doth  never  so  overpower  the  will  of  man,  as  to 


reduce  it  to  a  condition  of  slavery,  so  as  that  man 
should  not  have  a  proper  dominion  over  his  own 
acts;  but  I  think  we  do  generally  conclude,  that,  in 
the  world  to  come,  in  the  future  state,  the  wills  of 
all  glorified  saints  shall  be  so  advanced  and  perfected 
in  their  freedom,  as  not  in  the  least  to  verge  towards 
any  thing  that  is  evil,  but  shall  in  the  most  gladsome 
and  steady  manner  be  eternally  carried  towards  their 
full  and  glorious  object,  which  the  glorified  under- 
standing shall  then  represent  in  a  most  true,  clear, 
and  ample  manner;  and  this  we  take  to  be  the  soul's 
truest  liberty  in  the  highest  elevation  of  it.  Now, 
although  it  be  not  altogether  thus  wijh  us  in  this 
present  world,  (for  by  reason  of  the  weakness  and 
rauddiness  of  our  understandings,  which  do  here  re- 
present God  to  us  so  faintly  and  disadvantageously, 
it  comes  to  pass  that  the  will  cannot  so  freely  and 
fervently,  with  so  ardent  and  generous  motions,  pur- 
sue its  excellent  object,  as  it  shall  do  hereafter,)  yet 
1  believe  that  the  more  God  reveals  himself  to  any 
soul,  the  more  the  fluctuations  and  equilibriousness 
of  it  are  healed,  and  a  true  liberty  of  will  increased; 
and  that  he  doth  so  far  reveal  himself  to  every  truly 
godly  soul,  as  to  establish  this  noble  freedom  in  him, 
in  such  a  degree  as  will  keep  him  from  willing  a 
final  departure  frorh  him,  and  carry  him  certainly, 
(how  remissly  and  faintly  soever)  towards  the  supreme 
and  sovereign  good,  till  he  come  to  be  perfectly 
swallowed  up  in  it.  A  will  thus  truly  and  divinely 
free,  though  it  be  not  the  proper  efficient  cause,  yet 
certainly  is  an  inseparable  concomitant  of  final  per- 
severance. So  then,  the  more  God  communicateth 
himself  to  any  soul,  the  more  powerfully  it  willeth  a 


198 

nearer  conjunction  with  him;  and  no  soul,  I  conceive, 
to  whom  God  communicateth  himself  savingly,  can 
at  any  time  will  an  utter  separation  from  him. 

As  for  the  foulest  falls  of  Scripture  saints,  that 
are  any  where  recorded,  I  know  not  what  more  can 
rationally  be  inferred  from  them,  but  that  grace  in 
the  creature  admits  of  ebbs  and  flows,  is  subject  to 
augmentations  and  diminutions;  which  I  know  no 
sober  person  that  denies.  But,  I  think,  the  history 
of  their  lapses,  if  we  take  it  altogether,  hath  a  very 
favourable  aspect  upon  the  doctrine  of  perseverance ; 
yea,  for  aught  I  know,  one  great  design  of  God,  in 
penning  those  relations,  might  be  to  confirm  this 
very  doctrine,  by  giving  us  so  express  and  ample  an 
account  of  their  repentance  and  recovery,  that  we 
are  indeed  to  believe  they  were  strengthened  by 
their  falls,  so  far  were  their  falls  from  proving  mortal 
to  them.  One  would  think,  that  if  ever  the  habits  of 
grace  should  be  utterly  suffocated  and  extinct,  if  ever 
they  should  languish  even  unto  death,  it  should  be 
under  the  power  of  such  contrary  acts  as  David  and 
Peter  committed ;  and  especially  Solomon,  whose 
acts,  for  aught  I  can  see,  were  as  foul,  and  also  often 
repeated,  which  is  the  likeliest  thing  that  I  know  to 
destroy  gracious  habits.  I  know  there  are  instances 
given  of  good  Jehoash,  Hymeneus,  Alexander,  De- 
mas,  utterly  falling  from  that  gracious  state,  wherein 
sometimes  they  had  been  ;  but  it  did  never  yet  ap- 
pear to  me  beyond  contradiction,  that  ever  they 
were  any  of  them  in  such  a  state.  Jehoash  is  put 
amongst  the  number  of  hypocrites,  by  some  that 
have  examined  his  story;  and,  for  aught  that  can 
evidently  appear  to  the  contrary,  Demas  might  be 


199 

no  better.  Most  is  pleaded  for  Hymeneus  and 
Alexander,  who  put  away  a  good  conscience,  and 
made  shipwreck  of  faith,  1  Tim.  i.  19..  But  it 
does  not  yet  appear,  that  the  faith  which  they  made 
shipwreck  of  was  any  more  than  the  profession  or 
doctrine  of  the  true  faith;  yea,  rather,  it  doth  appear 
that  it  was  no  more.  Neither  does  it  at  all  appear 
that  they  ever  liad  that  good  conscience,  which  they 
are  said,  in  our  translation,  to  have  put  away,  which 
may  as  fitly  be  rendered  rejected;  for  that  we  find 
to  be  the  most  common  use  of  the  Greek  word 
aTTco^Zu — to  reject,  repel,  or  thrust  away  from  one. 
I  am  not  confident  that  this  apostacy  of  theirs  was 
total  neither,  supposing  it  to  be  an  apostacy;  for 
however  their  faith  was  shipwrecked,  possibly  some 
plank  or  other  of  it  might  be  left.  And  who  dare 
say  that  it  was  final?  The  Apostle  doth  not,  that 
I  perceive,  give  them  up  for  lost,  but  executes  dis- 
cipline upon  them,  as  it  seems,  for  their  recovery,  of 
which  one  might  think,  by  the  following  words,  that 
he  had  some  hopes, — ''  that  they  may  learn  not  to 
blaspheme."  In  short,  then,  as  to.  these  two  men,  I 
conceive,  that  good  conscience  which  they  put  away 
they  never  had,  and  the  faith  which  they  had  was 
not  that  good  faith.  And,  as  to  the  other  two  that 
were  named,  and  indeed  as  to  all  other  instances  of 
the  like  nature,  I  suppose  we  may  give  this  general 
answer;  that  either  they  did  but  seem  to  stand,  or 
they  did  but  seem  to  fall :  the  former,  perhaps,  was 
the  case  of  Jehoash,  the  latter  of  Deraas.  When- 
ever you  observe,  therefore,  the  backslidings  of  any 
seeming  Christians,  take  heed  of  concluding  rashly 
against  the  perseverance  of  saints;  but  rather  infer 


200 

with  the  holy  Apostle,  "  Tliey  went  out  from  us, 
but  they  were  not  of  us ;  for  if  tliey  had  been  of  us, 
lliey  would  no  doubt  have  continued  with  us  :"  which 
words,  if  they  be  meant  only  of  a  communion  in  doc- 
trine and  profession,  so  as  to  conclude  against  the 
separation  of  such  as  are  indeed  in  such  a  commu- 
nion, then  we  may  argue  the  more  strongly,  from  the 
less  to  the  greater,  against  the  final  apostacy  of  any 
that  are  in  a  higher  and  more  excellent  communion. 
As  for  those  texts  of  Scripture  that  seem  to  sup- 
pose a  man's  falling  away  from  grace,  and  turning 
from  righteousness,  I  conceive  a  fair  answer  may  be 
given  to  them,  by  the  distinguishing  of  righteous- 
ness; and  so  it  may  be  granted,  that  many  men  have 
turned  away  from,  and  utterly  made  shipwreck  of, 
their  legal  righteousness,  consisting  in  an  external 
conformity  to  the  letter  of  the  precepts  of  the  law, 
void  of  the  supernatural  and  divine  principle :  it  is 
indeed  the  common  lot  of  these  men  that  spring  up 
thus  fairly,  and  yet  have  no  root,  to  wither  away. 
And  yet,  on  the  other  hand,  it  abides  an  everlasting 
maxim  of  truth,  "  Whosoever  is  born  of  God  doth 
not  commit  sin;  for  his  seed  remaineth  in  him:  and 
he  cannot  sin,  because  he  is  born  of  God."  If  there 
be  any  texts  that  seem  to  speak  of  apostatizing  from 
an  evanfjelical  riohteousncss,  a  ricrhteousness  of  faith, 
and  so  cannot  well  be  solved  by  this  distinction,  as 
that  in  Heb.  x.  38.  and  some  others;  it  must  be 
considered  that  suppositions  are  made  of  things  im- 
possible as  well  as  possible,  yea,  and  that  even  in  the 
Scriptures  themselves,  as  some  have  observed  from 
Gal.  i.  8.  1  Cor.  xv.  14.  which  texts  do  not  at  all 
imply   what   they    suppose.      I  know,   indeed,   that 


201 

eternal  salvation   is  ordinarily  entailed  upon  perse- 
verance,  and  so  is  promised  to  us  in  Scripture,   as  it 
were  conditionally  :    "  If  ye   continue   in   my   word, 
then  are  ye  my  disciples  indeed."      "  You  hath  he 
reconciled  in  the  body  of  his  flesh,  through  death, 
to  present  you   holy,    and    unblamable,   and   unre- 
provable   in   his   sight ;  if  ye  continue  in  the  faith, 
and  be  not  moved  away  from   the  hope  of  the  gos- 
pel,"  &c.      To  the  same  purpose  are  those  words : 
"  He  that  endureth  to  the  end,  the  same  shall  be 
saved ;"   and,   "  He  that  overcoraeth,   and  keepeth 
my  words  unto  the  end,  to  him    will    I  give,"   &c. 
Ail  which  do  strongly  imply,  that  there  is  no  salva- 
tion but  in  a  way   of  perseverance;   and  the  words 
being  laid   down   thus   conditionally,   especially   the 
words  first  quoted,  are  indeed  cautionary  and  quick- 
ening to  the  dull  and  sluggish  minds  of  men,  but  do 
not  necessarily  imply  any  uncertainty  or  doubtfulness 
in  the  thing  itself,  no  more  than  those  words  of  the 
Apostle  Peter,    1   Peter  i.  10.  compared  with  the 
latter  end  of  the  twelfth  verse,  where  he  doth  affirm 
them  to  be  established  in  the  truth,  and  yet,  at  the 
same  time,   doth  speak  to  them  by  way  of  caution 
and   encouragement.      There   are    many  texts   that 
seem  to  suppose  the  apostacy  of  men  in  a  state  of  re- 
generation, but  not  one  that  doth  assert  it,  that  ever 
1  could  yet  find;   but  they  are  almost  without  num- 
ber, that,   to  my  apprehension,   do  more  than  seem 
to  assert  the  contrary,  namely,  their  final  persever- 
ance :    of  which  perseverance  we  have  also,   through 
the  goodness  of  God,  thousands  of  instances  ;   but 
no  man  could  ever  yet  produce  one  instance  of  the 
contrary,  but  by  mere  conjecture  ;  which  conjectures, 

I  3 


202 

let  them  tliat  make  them,  see  that  they  neither  be 
overcharitable  towards  men,  or  uncharitable  towards 
God.      Wherefore  I  do  conclude,  that  what  is  said 
concerning  heaven  and  hell  in  the  parable,  as  to  one 
branch  of  it,  is  true  of  grace  and  wickedness  ;   a  gulf 
is  fixed,  and  they  that  would  pass  from  God  to  sin 
and  the  devil  cannot:  not  that  there  shall  ever  be  in 
any  a  real  and  predominant  desire  so  to  pass,   as   I 
suppose  1  have  already  proved ;  but  it  denotes  the 
impossibility  of  the  thing.      It  is  equally  impossible 
that  a  ffocUv  soul  should  fall  from  God,  and  become  a 
hater  of  him,  fall  from  his  love  and  image,   and  take 
upon  him  the  image  of  the  devil,  as  it  was  for  La- 
zarus  to  quit   Abraham's  bosom  for  the  flames   of 
hell.      The  case  seems  to  be  the  same,   the  former 
being  the  most  real  heaven,  and  the  latter  the  truest 
hell.      True  religion  is  that  holy  fire,  which,  being 
once  kindled  in  the  soul  from  heaven,  never  goes  out; 
whereof  the  fire  of  the  altar  was  but  a  faint  and  im- 
perfect resemblance  ;  it  is  as  true,  in   this  respect, 
of  good   men,  as  it  is  of  wicked   men  in  another, 
"  their  fire  never  goes  out." 

x\nd  here,  now,  we  are  presented  with  another 
great  difference  between  true  and  counterfeit  religion. 
All  counterfeit  religion  will  fade  in  time,  though 
ever  so  specious  and  flourishing  ;  all  dew  will  pass 
away,  though  some  lie  much  longer  than  other;  all 
land- floods  will  fail ;  yea,  the  flood  of  Noah  at  length 
dried  up,  though  it  were  of  many  months'  duration. 
But  this  well  of  water,  which  our  Saviour  speaks  of 
here,  will  never  utterly  fail  ;  cold  adversity  cannot 
freeze  it  up  ;  scorching  prosperity  cannot  dry  it  up; 
the  upper  springs  of  uncreated  grace  and  goodness 


203 

will  evermore  feed  those  nether  springs  of  grace  and 
holiness  in  the  creature.  Though  heaven  and  earth 
pass  away,  yet  shall  the  seed  of  God  remain,  "  Fie 
that  hath  begun  a  good  work  will  certainly  perform 
it."  Where  the  ijrace  of  God  hath  beo-otten  a  di- 
vine  principle  and  spirit  of  true  reHgion  in  a  soul, 
there  is  the  central  force  even  of  heaven  itself,  still 
attracting,  and  carrying  the  soul  in  its  motions 
thitherward,  until  it  have  lodged  it  in  the  very  bo- 
som and  heart  of  God.  If  any  principle  lower  than 
true  religion  do  actuate  a  man,  it  v/ill  certainly  waste 
and  be  exhausted;  though  it  may  carry  him  swiftly 
in  a  rapid  motion,  yet  not  in  a  steady  ;  though  it 
may  carry  him  high,  yet  not  quite  through.  A  me- 
teor that  is  exhaled  from  the  earth  by  a  foreign 
force,  though  it  may  mount  high  in  appearance,  and 
brave  it  in  a  blaze,  enough  to  be  envied  by  the  poor 
twinkling  stars,  and  to  be  admired  by  ordinary 
spectators,  yet  its  fate  is  to  fall  down,  and  shamefuly 
confess  its  base  oritrinal.  That  reliijfion  which  men 
put  on  only  for  a  cloak,  will  wear  out  and  drop  into 
rags,  if  it  be  not  presently  thrown  by  as  a  garment 
of  fashion.  You  have  read  of  the  seemiufj  ri^hte- 
ousness  of  Jehu,  founded  in  ambition  and  cruelty, 
the  piety  and  devotion  of  Jehoash,  grounded  upon  a 
good  and  virtuous  education,  the  zeal  of  Saul  for  the 
worship  of  God,  and  his  fat  sacrifices,  growing  upon 
a  root  of  superstition,  as  Samuel,  that  man  of  God, 
interprets  it,  1  Sam.  xv.  22.  and  you  have  seen  the 
shameful  issue  of  all  these  dissemblers,  and  the  stink- 
ing snufF  in  which  all  this  candle-light  religion  ended, 
very  much  unlike  to  that  sun-light  lustre  of  true  and 
genuine  goodness,   '''  which  shineth  more  and  more 


unto  the  perfect  day,"  according  to  that  elegant  de- 
scription which  the  Spirit  of  God  makes  of  it  in  the 
writings  of  Solomon,  whose  pen  hath  as  mnch 
adorned  this  great  truth  as  his  life  hath  hlotted  it: 
"But  the  path  of  the  just  is  as  the  shining  light, 
that  shineth  more  and  more  unto  the  perfect  day." 
To  this  purpose  I  might  fairly  allege  the  frequent 
testimonies  which  the  Holy  Ghost  in  Scripture  gives 
concerning  such  hypocritical  and  unprincipled  pro- 
fessors ;  that,  having  no  root,  they  wither  away  in  a 
scorcliing  season,  that  they  are  again  entangled  in 
the  pollutions  of  the  world,  and  overcome,  that,  like 
dogs,  they  turn  to  their  own  vomit  again,  and,  like 
sows,  wallow  in  the  mire  from  which  they  had  heen 
washed,  together  with  many  others  of  the  same  na- 
ture :  as  also  the  prophecies  that  are  made  concern- 
ing them,  that  that  which  they  seemed  to  have  shall 
be  taken  away  from  them,  that  they  shall  proceed  no 
further;  "for  their  folly  shall  be  manifest  unto  all 
men,"  that  "evil  men  and  seducers,"  and  of  those, 
self-seducers  are  the  worst,  "  shall  wax  worse  and 
worse,"  vvith  other  places  of  the  like  nature.  It,were 
easy  to  record  many  histories  of  many  men,  espe- 
cially great  men,  who  have  speedily,  I  had  almost 
said,  disdainfully,  thrown  off  that  semblance  of  hu- 
mility, meekness,  self-denial,  justice,  and  faithful- 
ness, which  they  had  put  on,  for  a  vizard,  during 
their  probationaryship  for  preferment,  the  better  to 
accomplish  their  selfish  designs,  and  to  be  possessed 
of  some  base  ends  of  their  own.  Bat  yet  I  will  not 
deny,  but  tiiat  a  hypocrite  may  maintain  a  fair  con- 
formity to,  and  correspondence  with,  the  letter  of  the 
law  of  God;   he  may  continue  fair  and  specious  to 


205 

tlie  very  end  of  his  life;  yea,  perhaps,  may  go  to  his 
grave  undiscovered  either  to  himself,  or  any  in  the 
world  besides.  I  believe  many  men  have  lived  and 
died  Pharisees,  have  never  apostatized  from  that 
righteousness  which  they  professed,  but  have  perse- 
vered in  their  formality  and  hypocrisy  to  the  last. 
But  yet,  although  that  counterfeit  righteousness  and 
religion  may  possibly  not  fade  away,  yet,  neverthe- 
less, being  of  an  eartlily  and  selfish  constitution,  it 
is  transitory  and  fading;  and,  if  it  were  soundly  as- 
saulted and  battered  with  persecutions  and  tempta- 
tions, no  doubt,  would  actually  vanish  and  disappear ; 
on  the  other  hand,  the  promise  of  God  is  pregnant 
and  precious,  "  They  that  wait  upon  the  Lord  shall 
renew  their  strength;  they  shall  walk  and  not  faint." 
Take  encouragement  from  hence,  all  ye  that  love 
the  Lord ;  go  on  in  the  strength  of  God ;  be  the 
more  lively,  by  hovv  much  the  more  you  are  assured 
that  this  well  of  water  shall  spring  up  in  you  into 
everlasting  life.  Make  this  good  use  of  this  com- 
fortable doctrine :  will  God,  indeed,  work  in  you 
"Jt)oth  to  will  and  to  do?"  why,  then,  so  much  the 
rather  "  work  out  your  own  salvation,"  according  to 
the  Apostle.  "  Will  the  Lord  God  be  Vv'ith  you  ? 
will  he  not  fail  you  nor  forsake  you  till  you  have 
finished  all  your  work?"  why  then,  "  be  strong,  and 
of  good  courage,  and  do,"  as  good  David  infers  and 
argues.  Have  you  this  hope,  this  firm  ground  of 
hope,  in  the  promise  and  goodness  of  God  ?  why 
then,  "  purify  yourselves  as  God  is  pure,"  according 
to  the  Apostle.  Stop  the  mouths  of  those  men  that 
say  the  doctrine  of  perseverance  is  prejudicial  to  god- 
liness; let  them  see,  and  be  forced  to  acknowledge 


206 

it,  that  the  more  a  godly  soul  is  assured  of  the  in- 
finite and  unchangeable  love  and  care  of  God  towards 
him,  the  more  he  is  winged  with  love  and  zeal,  with 
speed  mounting  up  thither  daily,  vyhere  he  longs  to 
arrive.  They  that  understand  the  doctrine  of  per- 
severance, do  also  understand  that  they  must  accom- 
plish it  in  a  way  of  dutiful  diligence,  and  watchful 
willingness ;  and  if  any  grow  prof.ine  and  licentious, 
and  apostatize  from  the  way  of  righteousness  which 
they  have  known,  it  is  an  evident  argument  to  them 
that  they  are  no  saints,  and  then  what  will  the  doc- 
trine of  the  perseverance  of  saints  avail  them  ? 


207 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Religion  considered  in  the  cojisequent  of  not  tliirsting  : 
divine  grace  gives  a  solid  satisfaction  to  the  soul.  This 
aphorism  conjirmed  by  some  Scriptures,  and  largely  ex- 
plained in  six  propositions.  First,  that  there  is  a  raging 
thirst  in  every  soul  of  man,  after  some  idtimate  and  satis- 
factory  good.  Second,  that  every  natural  man  tkirsteth 
principcdly  after  happiness  in  the  creature.  Third,  that 
no  man  canjind  that  soul-filing  satisfaction  in  any  crea- 
ture enjoyment.  Fourth,  that  grace  takes  not  aximy  the 
souVs  thirst  after  happiness.  Fifth,  that  the  godly  soid 
thirsteth  no  more  after  rest  in  any  u^orldly  thing,  but  in 
God  (done  ;  hoivfar  a  godly  7nan  may  be  said  to  thirst 
after  the  creature.  Sixth,  that  in  the  enjoyment  of  God 
the  soul  is  at  rest ;  and  this  in  a  double  sense,  namely, 
so  as  that  it  is  perfectly  matched  imth  its  object.  Se- 
condly, so  satifed  as  to  have  joy  and  pleasure  in  him. 
The  chapter  concludes  with  a  passionate  lamentation  over 
the  levity  and  earthliness  of  Christian  minds. 

Hitherto  we  have  taken  a  view  of  true  religion, 
as  it  stands  described  in  this  pregnant  text,  by  its 
original,  nature,  and  properties  :  we  are  now  to  con- 
sider it  in  the  certain  and  genuine  consequent  of  it; 
and  that  is,  in  one  word,  affirmatively,  satisfaction  • 
or,  if  you  will,  negatively,  not  thirsting:  for  so  it  is, 
in  our  Saviour's  phrase,  "  Whosoever  drinketh  of 
the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  never  thirst." 

Whilst  I  address  myself  to  the  explication  of  this 
phrascy  I  suppose  I  need  not  be  so  exact  and  curious 
as  to  tell  you  in  order,  with  a  certain  kind  of  scho- 


208 

lastlcal  gravity,  first,  what  is  not;  and  then,  what  is 
meant  by  it:  for  I  presume  no  body  will  dream  of 
a  corporeal  or  gross  kind  of  thirsting  to  be  meant 
here.  Grace  doth  no  more  quench  the  thirst  of  the 
body,  than  elementary  water  can  relieve  the  panting 
of  the  soul.  Nay,  he  himself  was  subject  to  this 
gross  kind  of  thirst,  who  gave  to  others  the  water, 
whereof,  if  they  drank,  they  should  never  thirst 
more.  If  it  be  understood  of  a  spiritual  thirst,  yet 
I  suppose  I  need  not  to  tell  you,  that  then  it  must 
not  be  understood  absolutely :  for  it  cannot  possibly 
be,  that  the  thirst  of  a  soul  should  be  perfectly  al- 
layed, till  all  its  faculties  be  filled  up  to  the  brim  of 
their  respective  capacities,  which  will  never  be,  until 
it  be  swallowed  up  in  the  infinite  and  unbounded 
ocean  of  the  supreme  good. 

But  I  conceive  we  may  fairly  come  to  the  mean- 
ing of  this  phrase,  "  never  thirst,"  neither  by  adding 
or  distinguishing. 

1.  Then,  let  us  supply  the  sentence  thus,  "  Who- 
soever drinketh  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him 
shall  never  thirst  after  any  other  water."  There  is 
no  worldly  liquor  can  be  so  accommodated  or  attem- 
pered to  the  palate,  as  to  give  it  a  universal  satis- 
faction, as  that  a  man  should  be  perfectly  mortified 
to  all  variety :  but  this  heavenly  water,  which  our 
Saviour  treats  of  here,  is  so  fitted  to  the  palate  of 
spirits,  and  brings  such  satisfaction  along  with  it, 
that  the  soul  that  is  made  to  drink  of  it  does  sus- 
pend its  chase  of  all  other  delights,  counts  all  other 
waters  but  a  filthy  puddle,  thirsts  no  more  after  any 
other  thing,  neither  through  necessity  nor  for  variety. 
The  more  indeed  the  soul  drinks  of  this  water,  the 


209 

more  it  tbirsteth  after  fuller  measures,  and  larger 
portions  of  the  same;  and  does  not  only  draw  in 
divine  virtue  and  influences,  but  even  longs  to  be . 
itself  swallowed  up  in  the  Divinity,  as  we  shall  see 
further  in  the  procedure  of  this  discourse:  but  its 
thirst  after  all  created  good,  all  the  waters  of  the 
cistern  are  hereby  extinixuished,  or  at  least  mastered 
and  mortified.      Or, 

2.  By  distinguishing  upon  thirst,  the  sense  of  the 
phrase  will  be  clearly  this :  "  Whosoever  drinketh  of 
the  water  that  I  shall  give  him,"  shall  never  be  at  a 
loss  more,  never  be  to  seek  any  more,  never  be  un- 
certain or  unsatisfied  as  to  his  main  happiness  or 
supreme  object;  he  shall  not  rove  and  range  up  and 
down  the  world  in  an  unfixedness  and  suspense  any 
more;  shall  not  run  up  and  down  to  seek  satisfaction 
and  rest  any  more.  From  an  internal  unsatisfied- 
ness  of  the  body,  spring  violent  and  restless  motions 
and  runnings  up  and  down,  by  which  thirst  is  con- 
tracted; so  that,  by  a  metonymy,  thirst  comes  to  be 
used  for  unsatisfiedness,  which  is  the  remote  cause 
of  it;  and,  by  a  metaphor,  the  same  phrase  comes 
to  be  applied  to  the  soul.  I  suppose  I  am  warranted, 
by  the  sacred  style,  thus  to  interpret,  especially  by 
the  use  and  explication  of  the  phrase  in  Jer.  ii.  25. 
where  the  prophet  intimates,  that  by  thirst  is  to  be 
meant  a  restless  and  discontented  running  up  and 
down  to  seek  satisfaction,  "  Withhold  thy  foot  from 
being  unshod,  and  thy  throat  from  thirst;"  which 
two  phrases  are  of  the  same  importance,  and  signify 
no  more,  than  cease  from  gadding  after  your  idols; 
and  that  this  is  the  meaning  of  that  thirsting,  ap- 
pears by  the  answer  that  the  wilful  and  desperate 


210 

people  make  in  the  sequel  of  the  verse :  for,  ijistead 
of  saying,  No,  but  we  will  thirst,  they  cry,  "  No, 
but  after  them  will  I  go."  To  thirst,  then,  is,  in 
an  unsatisfiedness  and  spiritual  disquiet,  to  range  up 
and  down,  seeking  something  wherein  ultimately  to 
acquiesce.  And,  in  this  sense,  it  is  most  true  what 
our  Lord  here  pronounceth,  that  "  whosoever  drink- 
eth  of  the  water  that  I  shall  give  him  shall  never 
thirst."  Of  which  thirst  that  famous  proclamation 
of  our  Saviour's  is  to  be  understood,  "  If  any  man 
thirst  let  him  come  unto  me  and  drink;"  in  which 
place  also  we  must  necessarily  understand  what  is 
here  expressed,  that  then  he  shall  never  thirst  more. 

It  matters  not  much  by  which  of  these  two  ways 
we  explain  the  phrase  here  of  "  not  thirsting;"  for, 
according  to  either  of  them,  it  will  result  in  this  theo- 
logical maxim,  namely.  That 

"  Divine  grace,  or  the  true  Christian  religion, 
gives  a  real  and  solid  satisfaction  to  the  soul  that  is 
principled  with  it."  This  will  appear  plain,  though 
we  apply  but  out  of  each  Testament  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  one  text  thereunto.  I  think  it  cannot 
reasonably  be  doubted,  but  that  the  prophecy  and 
promise  made  in  Isa.  xlix.  10.  is  to  be  performed  to 
believers  in  this  present  life;  for  so  must  the  fore- 
going verses  necessarily  be  understood;  and  there 
we  have  the  doctrine  expressly  asserted,  "  They 
shall  not  hunger  nor  thirst,  &c.  for  he  that  hath 
mercy  on  them  shall  lead  them,  even  by  the  springs 
of  water  shall  he  guide  them."  To  which  those 
words  of  our  Saviour  are  parallel,  "  He  that  be- 
lieveth  on  me  shall  never  thirst :"  which  doctrine  of 
his  is  yet  amplified  and  enlarged  in  John  vii,  38. 


211 

"  He  that  believeth  on  me,  as  the  scripture  hath 
said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  Hving  water." 
What  greater  security  from  thirst  can  be  desired, 
than  that  one  should  be  led  by  springs  of  water? 
Yes,  one  may  be  led  by  the  springs  of  water,  and 
vet  not  be  suffered  to  drink  of  them  :  well,  there- 
fore,  to  put  all  out  of  fear,  the  godly  soul  shall  con- 
tain vvithin  himself  a  spring  of  water;  he  shall  have 
rivers  of  living  waters  in  himself;  and,  for  his  fuller 
security,  these  rivers  shall  be  ever  flowing  too.  It 
shall  sufiice  at  present,  thus  briefly  to  have  estab- 
lished this  conclusion.  And  now,  having  lapt  up 
the  meaning  of  the  words  in  this  short  position,  I 
shall  endeavour  to  unfold  it  in  these  six  following 
propositions  : — 

1.  "  There  is  a  raging  thirst  in  every  soul  of  man 
after  some  ultimate  and  satisfactory  good."  The 
God  of  nature  hath  implanted  in  every  created  nature 
a  secret  but  powerful  tendency  towards  a  centre,  the 
dictates  of  which,  arising  out  of  the  very  constitution 
of  it,  it  cannot  disobey,  until  it  cease  to  be  such,  and 
utterly  apostatize  from  the  state  of  its  creation.  And 
the  nobler  any  being  is,  the  more  excellent  is  the 
object  assigned  to  it,  and  the  more  strong  and  po- 
tent, and  uncontrollable  are  its  raptures  and  motions 
thereunto.  Wherefore,  the  soul  of  man  must  needs 
also  have  its  own  proper  centre,  which  must  be  some- 
thing superior  to,  and  more  excellent  than  itself, 
able  to  fill  up  all  its  indigencies,  to  match  all  its  capa- 
cities, to  master  all  its  cravings,  and  give  a  plenary, 
and  perfect  satisfaction  :  which  therefore  can  be  no 
other  than  the  uncreated  goodness,  even  God  him- 
self.     It  was  not   possible  that  God  should  make 


212 

man  of  such  faculties,  and  of  that  capaciousness  as 
we  see  thera,  and  appoint  any  thing  below  himself, 
to  be  his  ultimate  happiness.  Now,  although  it  be 
sadly  true,  that  the  faculties  of  the  soul  are  miser- 
ably maimed,  depraved,  beniijlited,  distorted;  yet  I 
do  not  see  that  the  soul  is  utterly  changed  in  its 
nature  by  sin,  so  as  that  any  other  thing  should  be 
obtruded  upon  it  for  its  cent.e  and  happiness,  than 
tlie  same  infinite  good  that  was  such  from  the  be- 
ginning, or  so  as  that  its  main  and  cardinal  motions 
should  be  ultimately  directed  to  any  other  than  its 
natural  and  primitive  object.  The  natural  under- 
standing hath  not,  indeed,  any  clear  or  distinct  sight 
of  this  blessed  object;  but  yet  it  retains  a  darker 
and  more  general  apprehension  of  him,  and  may  be 
said,  even  in  all  its  pursuits  of  other  things,  to  be 
still  groping  in  the  dark  after  him :  neither  is  it 
without  some  secret  and  latent  sense  of  God,  that 
the  will  of  man  cliooseth  or  embraceth  any  thing  for 
good.  The  Apostle  hesitates  not  to  afBrm,  that  the 
idolatrous  Athenians  themselves  did  worship  God, 
though  at  that  time,  indeed,  they  knew  not  what 
they  worshipped  :  their  worship  was  secretly  and  im- 
plicitly directed  to  God,  and  did  ultimately  resolve 
itself  into  him,  though  they  were  not  aware  of  it,— 
"  whom  ye  ignorantly  worship,  him  declare  I  unto 
you."  Now,  that  he  declared  God  to  them,  appears 
abundantly  by  the  following  verses ;  what  he  says  in 
point  of  worship,  the  same,  methinks,  I  may  say  in 
point  of  love,  trust,  delight,  dependence,  and  apply 
it  to  all  sorts  of  idolaters,  as  well  as  image-worship- 
pers, and  affirm  that  the  covetous  idolater,  even  when 
he  most  fondly  hugs  his  bags,  and  most  firmly  con- 


213 

fideth  in  his  riches,  doth  ignorantly  love  and  trust 
in  God;  the  proud  idolater,  in  the  highest  acts  of 
self-seeking,  and  self-pleasing,  doth  ignorantly  ad- 
mire and  adore  God ;  the  amhitious  idolater,  even 
in  the  hottest  chase  of  secular  glory,  and  popular 
applause,  doth  ignorantly  pursue,  and  advance  God. 
For  that  rest,  contentment,  peace,  happiness,  satis- 
faction, which  these  mistaken  souls  do  aim  at,  what 
is  it  other  than  God,  though  they  attribute  it  to 
something  else  which  cannot  afford  it,  and  so  commit 
a  real  blasphemy :  for  they  that  do  in  their  hearts, 
and  course  of  their  lives,  ascribe  a  filling  and  satisfy- 
ing virtue  to  riches,  pleasures,  or  honours,  do  as 
truly,  though  not  so  loudly,  blaspheme,  as  they  who 
cried  out  concerning  the  calf  of  gold,  Exod.  xxxii.  4. 
"  These  be  thy  gods,  O  Israel !"  And  in  this  sense 
that  I  have  been  speaking,  one  may  safely  affirm, 
that  the  most  professed  Atheist  in  the  world  doth 
secretly  pursue  the  God  whom  he  openly  denies, 
whilst  his  will  is  catching  at  that  which  his  judg- 
ment renounceth,  and  he  allows  that  Deity  in  his 
lusts  vvhich  he  will  not  own  in  heaven.  The  hypo- 
crite professes  to  know  God,  but  in  works  denies 
him ;  on  the  other  hand,  the  Atheist,  though  in 
words  he  deny  God,  yet  in  his  works  he  professeth 
him  :  so  natural  and  necessary  it  is  for  all  men  to 
acknowledge  a  Deity,  though  some  are  so  brutish 
and  besotted,  as  to  confine  him  to  their  own  bellies  ; 
of  whom  the  Apostle  speaks,  "  Whose  god  is  their 
belly."  I  say  natural ;  for  it  is  not  only  some  few 
men  of  better  education,  and  more  contemplative 
complexions,  that  hunt  after  this  invisible  and  satis- 
fying good  ;  but  indeed  the  most  vulgar  souls,  re- 


214 

taining  still  the  nature  of  souls,  are  perpetually 
catching  at  an  ultimate  happiness  and  satisfaction, 
and  are  secretly  stung  and  tormented  with  the  vvant 
of  it.  Certainly  the  motions  of  a  soul  are  more 
strong  and  weighty  than  we  are  ordinarily  aware  of; 
and,  1  think,  one  may  safely  conclude,  that  if  there 
were  no  latent  sense,  or  natural  science  of  God,  the 
poor  man  could  not  spend  the  powers  of  his  soul  so 
intensely  for  the  purchasing  a  little  food  and  raiment 
for  the  body,  nor  the  covetous  man  so  insatiably 
thirst  after  houses  and  land,  and  a  larger  heap  of 
refined  earth;  did  they  not  secretly  imagine,  I  mean, 
some  contentment,  happiness,  or  satisfaction,  were 
to  be  drunk  in  together  with  these  acquirements, 
they  would  seem  to  be  but  dry  and  insipid  morsels 
to  a  soul ;  which  ultimate  happiness  and  satisfaction, 
as  I  said  before,  can  be  no  other  than  God  himself, 
whom  these  mistaken  souls  do  ignorantly  adore,  and 
feel  for  in  the  dark.  Neither  let  any  one  think  that 
this  ignorant  and  unwary  pursuit  of  God  can  pass 
for  religion,  or  be  acceptable  in  the  sight  of  God  ; 
for,  as  it  is  impossible  that  ever  any  man  should 
stumble  into  a  happy  state,  without  foresight  and 
free  choice,  and  be  in  it  without  any  kind  of  sense 
or  feeling  of  it,  so  neither  can  God  accept  the  bUnd 
for  sacrifice,  or  be  pleased  with  any  thing  less  than 
reasonable  service  from  a  reasonable  creature.  As 
the  Athenians,  worshipping  God  by  altars  and  images, 
are  counted  superstitious,  not  devout,  so  the  whole 
generation  of  gross  and  sensual  souls  admiring,  lov- 
ing, and  ignorantly  coveting  after  God  in  the  pic- 
tures and  images  of  true  goodness,  are,  indeed,  truly 
blasphemers  and  idolaters,  but  religious  they  cannot 


215 

be.  We  cannot  excuse  them  from  idolatry,  who 
direct  their  worship  purposely  to  the  true  God,  by 
or  through  imafres  ;  much  less  can  we  be  favourable 
to  those  who  bestow  their  love,  joy,  confidence,  and 
delight,  ignorantly  upon  the  supreme  and  self-suffi- 
cient good,  by  or  through  any  created  good,  in  which 
they,  as  far  as  they  understand,  do  terminate  their 
devotion.  I  do  not  say  that  all  souls  have  a  distinct 
discovery  of  the  good  they  aim  at,  it  is  evident  they 
have  not;  but  yet  the  will  of  every  man  is  secretly 
in  chase  of  some  ultimate  end  and  happiness,  and, 
indeed,  in  its  eager  tendencies  outflies  the  under- 
standing. All  which  mystery  seems  to  be  wrapped 
up  in  that  short  but  pithy  inquiry,  which,  if  it  were 
a  little  otherwise  modified,  would  be  an  excellent  de- 
scription of  the  natural  soul,  "  Many  say,  who  will 
show  us  any  good  ?"  The  nature  of  the  object  is 
set  out  in  the  word  "good,"  the  eagerness  of  the 
motion,  in  the  form  of  the  question,  "  who  will  show 
us  ?"  and  the  ignorance  of  the  mover  appears  in  the 
indeterminateness  of  this  object,  which  is  v/ell  ex- 
plained by  the  supply  of  the  word  any  ;  "  who  will 
show  us  any  good  ?"  And,  tliat  this  is  the  cry  of 
every  rational  soul,  is  insinuated  by  the  word  many  -, 
which  mani/  is  also,  in  metre,  multiplied  into  the 
greater  sort,  and  must  indeed,  necessarily,  be  ex- 
tended unto  all. 

2.  "  Every  natural  man  thirsteth  principally  after 
happiness  and  satisfaction  in  tlie  creature."  The 
fall  of  the  soul  consisteth  in  its  sinkino;  itself  into 
the  animal  life,  and  the  business  of  every  unrenewed 
soul  is  in  one  kind  or  other  still  to  gratify  the  same 
life  ;  for  although,  as  I  have  shown,  God  is  in  the 


216 

bottom  of  these  men's  cares,  and  loves,  and  desires, 
and  implicitly  in  all  their  thirstings,  yet  I  may  well 
say  of  them,  as  God  says  of  the  Assyrian  monarch, 
at  what  time  he  executed  his  pleasu-re  in  correcting 
his   people   Israel,   *'  Howbeit   he   meaneth   not  so, 
neither  doth  his  heart  think  so  :"   God  is  not  in  all 
their  thoughts,  whilst  they  pursue  that  in  the  crea- 
ture, which  really  none  but  God  alone  can  be  unto 
them.     They  do  ultimately  direct,  as  to  their  inten- 
tion, all  their  cares,  and  covetings,  and  thirstings,  to 
some  created  object;  all  which  are  calculated  for  the 
animal  life,   the  gratifying  and   accomplishing  their 
own  base  lusts.      This  is  very  apparent  in  the  ido- 
latry of  the  Pagans,  whose  lusts  gave  being  to  their 
gods;   and  so  their  deities   were  as  many  as  their 
concupiscences  and  filthy   passions  :    to    sacrifice  to 
their  own  revenue  and  sensualitv,   under  the  names 
of  Mars,  Bacchus,  and  Venus,  what  was  it  else,  but 
to  proclaim  to  all  the  world,  that  they  took  the  high- 
est contentment  and  satisfaction  in  the  fulfiilinor  of 
such  kind  of  lusts  ?  this  was  to  them  their  god  or 
supreme  felicity.      The   case   is   the   same,  though 
not   so   expressly   and    professedly,    with   all    carnal 
Christians,  who,  although  they  profess  the  true  God, 
yet,  in  truth,  make  him  only  a  pander  to  their  own 
lusts  and  base  ends;  though  they  name  the  name  of 
Christ,  yet,  in  very  deed,   deify  their  own  passions, 
and   sacrifice    to    the   gratification    of  their    animal 
powers.      The    Psalmist,    as    we   have  seen,   deter- 
mines the  main  end  of  all  men  to  be  "  good,"  Psal. 
iv.  6.  but,  lest  any  man  should  be  deceived  in  them, 
he  presently  tells  us  where  this  good  was   placed, 
ver.  7.  namely,  "in  corn  and  wine;"  by  which   we 


217 

must  understand  the  animal  life,  and  whatsoever  ad- 
ministers to  the  delight  thereof.  And  certainly  this 
will  go  far;  for  not  only  meats  and  drinks,  sensual 
pleasures,  gorgeous  apparel,  sumptuous  buildings, 
splendid  descent,  honourable  preferments,  popular 
applause,  inordinate  recreations,  and  an  unwieldy 
bulk  of  earthly  riches;  but  also  orthodox  opinions, 
philosophical,  political,  yea,  and  scholastical  learning, 
fair  professions,  much  pompous  worship,  yea,  and 
worship  industriously  void  of  pomp,  specious  per- 
formances ;  to  which  we  may  add,  the  most  seemly 
exercises  of  undaunted  valour,  unshaken  constancy, 
unbribed  justice,  uninterrupted  temperance,  unspot- 
ted chastity,  and  unlimited  charity,  if  much  giving 
may  deserve  so  sacred  a  name ;  even  all  these,  and 
as  many  more,  may  serve  only  as  fuel  for  the  rapa- 
cious fire  of  lust  and  self-love,  to  maintain  and  keep 
alive  the  mere  animal,  or,  at  most,  logical  life,  and 
are  ordinarily  designed  as  sacrifices  to  that  which  we 
significantly  call  self,  in  contradistinction  from  God. 
I  need  not  here  declaim  against  covetous,  luxurious, 
ambitious  souls,  the  Apostle  having  so  expressly  pre- 
vented me  by  his  plain  and  punctual  arraignment  of 
such  men.  Col.  iii.  5.  Phil.  iii.  19.  where  he  charges 
them  with  placing  a  deity  in  their  bags  and  bellies : 
otherwise  I  durst  appeal  to  all  the  world,  that  are 
not  parties,  yea,  to  the  parties  themselves,  whether 
it  be  God,  or  themselves,  that  these  persons  do  in- 
tend to  serve,  and  please,  and  gratify;  whether  it  be 
a  real  assimilation  to  God,  and  the  true  honour  of 
his  name,  or  some  lust  or  humour  of  self-pleasing, 
self-advancing,  and  self-enjoying,  that  they  sacrifice 
their  cares  and  pains,  and  the  main  thirstings  of  their 

K  38 


218 

souls  to.  I  am  confident  it  will  be  easily  acknow- 
ledged, that  the  covetous,  voluptuous,  and  ambitious, 
do  sacrifice  all  they  are,  and  do,  to  the  latter ;  but, 
alas  !  it  is  not  yet  agreed  among  men  who  are  such  ; 
the  hypothesis  is  granted,  but  the  thesis  is  disputed  ; 
and,  indeed,  this  is  no  wonder  neither  ;  for  it  is  as 
natural  for  the  animal  self-life  to  shift  off  guilt  as  it 
is  to  contract  it ;  and  the  pride  of  the  natural  man 
is  no  less  conspicuous  in  his  wrongful  endeavours  to 
seem  innocent  of  what  he  is  indeed  guilty,  than  his 
covetousness  and  voluptuousness  is  apparent  in  the 
matter  wherein  his  guilt  consisteth.  It  is  not  only 
these,  and  some  few  of  the  grossest  and  profanest 
sort  of  souls,  that  are  guilty  in  this  kind  which  I 
have  been  describing,  though  they,  indeed,  are  grossly 
and  most  visibly  guilty;  but  verily  the  whole  gene- 
ration of  mere  animal  men,  who  have  no  principle  of 
divine  life  implanted  in  them,  do  spend  all  their  days, 
bestow  all  their  pains,  and  enjoy  all  their  comforts, 
in  a  real  strain  of  blasphemy,  from  first  to  last. 
What  a  blasphemous  kind  of  philosophy  was  that 
which  professedly  placed  the  supreme  good  and  chief- 
est  happiness  of  man  in  the  fruition  of  pleasures? 
And,  indeed,  all  those  kinds  of  philosophy,  which 
placed  it  elsewhere,  in  things  below  God  himself, 
and  the  enjoyment  of  him,  were  no  less  profane, 
though  they  may  seem  somewhat  less  beastly:  for 
whether  the  Epicureans  idolized  their  own  senses, 
or  the  more  exalted  Stoics  deified  their  own  faculty, 
placing  their  main  contentment  in  their  self-suffi- 
ciency, and  the  perpetual  serenity  and  tranquillity  of 
their  own  minds,  it  is  too  apparent  that  both  the  one 
and  the  other  still  moved  within  the  narrow  and  low 


219 

sphere  of  natural  self,  and  grasped  after  a  deity  in 
the  poor  dark  shadows,  and  glimmering  representa- 
tives of  him.  But  I  am  speaking  to  Christians  : 
and,  amongst  these,  let  no  man  tell  me  how  ortho- 
dox his  opinions,  how  pure  and  spiritual  his  forms, 
how  numerous  and  specious  his  performances  are, 
how  rightly  he  pays  his  homage,  and  prays  to  one 
living  God,  by  one  living  Mediator.  I  will  willingly 
allow,  and  do,  with  delight,  observe  these  things 
wherever  they  are;  but  yet  all  this  doth  not  deno- 
minate a  Christian:  for  still  that  of  the  Apostle  must 
hold  good,  "  His  servants  ye  are  to  whom  ye  obey;" 
and  I  may  add,  by  somewhat  a  like  phraseology,  "  His 
children  ye  are  whom  ye  resemble;"  his  creatures  ye 
are,  as  far  as  you  can  make  yourselves  so,  whose  suf- 
ficiency and  sovereignty  is  most  magnified  in  your 
hearts;  his  worshippers  ye  are  whom  ye  mostly  love, 
trust  in,  delight  in,  depend  upon ;  in  a  word,  that  is 
your  God,  which  your  soul  doth  mainly  rest,  and 
centre,  and  wrap  up  itself  in.  And,  alas  1  how  vivsi- 
bly  dear  and  precious  is  the  self-central  life,  which 
is  so  universally  pampered,  cherished,  and  sacrificed 
unto,  besides  the  invisible  and  more  spiritual  obla- 
tions that  are  made  thereunto.  This  is  as  true  an 
Antichrist  in  the  mystery  as  there  is  any  literal 
Antichrist  in  the  world;  and,  of  this,  one  may  as 
truly  say,  as  St.  John  doth  of  the  other,  "  All  the 
world  wondereth  after  the  beast."  In  a  word,  then, 
whosoever  saith  in  his  heart  concerning  any  thing 
that  is  not  God,  what  that  rich  man  in  the  gospel 
said  concerning  his  goods,  "  Soul,  take  thine  ease 
in  them,  and  be  merry,"  the  same  is  an  idolater 
and  blasphemer :  and   this   I  affirm  to  be  the  lan- 

K  2 


220 

guage  of  every  apostate  spirit  and  unregenerate  soul 
of  man. 

3.  "  No  man  can  find  that  happiness,  and  soul-fill- 
ing  satisfaction  in  any  creature-enjoyment,  which 
every  natural  man  principally  seeketh  therein/' 
Here  are  two  things  to  be  spoken  to,  namely,  the 
enjoyments  of  men,  or  what  they  possess,  and  the 
satisfaction  which  the  natural  man  seeketh  in  such 
possessions.  For  the  first  of  these,  I  do  not  be- 
lieve that  ever  any  natural  man  had  his  fill  of  such 
possessions,  I  mean  as  to  the  quantity  of  them ;  he 
never  had  so  much  of  them,  as  to  be  able  freely  to 
say,  It  is  enough.  The  rational  soul  hath  a  strong 
and  insatiable  appetite,  and  wherever  it  imagineth 
its  beloved  prey  to  be  found,  and  filling  enjoyment 
to  be  had,  it  is  exceedingly  greedy  and  rapacious; 
whether  the  same  will  ever  be  able  to  afford  it  or 
not,  it  matters  not.  The  animal  life  is  that  vora- 
cious idol,  not  like  Bel  in  the  story,  which  seems 
only  to  eat  up,  but  which  doth  really  devour  all  the 
fat  morsels,  and  sensual  pleasures,  that  are  sacrificed 
to  it,  and  yet  it  is  not  filled  therewith.  The  whole 
employment  of  the  natural  man,  is  nothing  else,  but 
as  the  Apostle  elegantly  describes  it,  Rom.  xiii. 
14.  "  To  make  provision  for  the  flesh,  to  fulfil  it 
in  the  lusts  thereof:"  wherein  yet,  to  speak  the 
truth,  he  loses  his  labour;  for  he  sacrifices  all  to 
an  insatiable  idol,  and  pours  it  into  a  gulf  that  hath 
neither  bottom  nor  bounds,  but  svvalloweth  up  all 
into  its  barren  womb,  and  is  rather  made  to  thirst, 
than  to  cease  from  thirsting,  by  all  that  is  or  can 
be  administered  to  it.  I  take  that  of  Solomon, 
Eccles.  i.  8.  to  be  a  clear  proof,  in  general,  ot  what 


^21 

I  affirm,  "  The  eye  is  not  satisfied  with  seeing,  nor 
the  ear  filled  with  hearing ;"  the  eye  of  man,  as 
little  as  it  is,  is  bigger  than  the  whole  visible  world, 
which,  although  it  may  be  wearied  with  looking 
upon  various  objects,  as  the  English  Annotators 
observe  upon  these  words,  yet  still  desires  new  ones, 
and  can  drink  them  in  without  surfeiting;  so  that, 
although  the  acts  of  the  eye  be  scant  and  finite,  yet 
the  lusts  of  the  eye  seem  to  have  a  kind  of  infinity 
in  them.  And  indeed,  by  the  insatiableness  of  the 
eye  and  ear,  is  meant  the  greediness  and  voracity  of 
the  flesh  or  animal  life,  as  Mr.  Cartwright  hath  well 
observed  upon  Prov.  xxvii,  20.  "  Hell  and  destruc- 
tion are  never  full,  so  the  eyes  of  man  are  never 
satisfied;"  where,  by  '  not  being  satisfied,'  is  meant, 
not  having  enough  in  quantity,  as  appears  by  the  simi- 
litude in  the  former  part  of  the  verse.  To  the  same 
sense  he  speaks,  Eccles.  iv.  8.  v.  10.  It  would  be  end- 
less to  relate  the  monstrous  and  inexplicable  gapings  of 
covetous,  am.bitious,  voluptuous,  proud,  vainglorious 
minds  after  their  respective  idols.  And,  indeed,  I 
need  not  descend  to  particular  instances;  for  I  sup- 
pose never  any  natural  man  could  heartily  say  he 
had  enough  of  riches,  promotions,  applause,  sensual 
delights,  eloquence,  policy,  prowess,  or  victory,  or  of 
any  other  thing  which  is  accommodated  to  the  gratifi- 
cation of  the  flesh,  no  more  than  any  godly  soul,  so- 
journing upon  earth,  could  ever  yet  be  able  to  say  he 
had  enough  of  God  and  eternal  life.  So  that,  in  a  word, 
I  know  not  how  to  apply  any  description  to  this  insa- 
tiable and  devouring  principle,  more  properly  than 
that  which  the  prophet  makes  of  hell,  "  She  enlargetli 
herself,  and  openeth   her  mouth  without  measure, 


222 

and  all  glory,  multitude,  and  pomp,  descend  into  it." 
I  know  there  are  of  these  men  that  pretend  to  have 
enough  in  quantity  of  these  fleshly  provisions  ;  but  I 
fear,  falsely  and  unjustly;  for,  as  for  the  rich  and 
honourable  of  the  earth,  it  is  too  evident,  that  they 
are  still  climbing  higher,  and  grasping  after  more, 
as  the  great  Alexander  is  said  to  have  whined  after 
more  worlds,  when  he  conceited  himself  to  be  master 
of  all  this.  As  for  the  poorer  and  meaner  sort  of 
people,  who  are  as  ready  sometimes  to  lay  claim  to 
this  virtue  of  thinking  themselves  to  have  enough, 
as  any  other  people  whatsoever,  it  is  too  manifest  to 
a  wise  observer,  that  it  is  not  a  real  apprehension 
that  they  have  enough,  but  either  a  lowness  and 
weakness  of  spirit,  arising  from  the  meanness  of 
their  education,  or  a  downright  despair  of  ever  get- 
ting more. 

But  be  it  imagined,  that  the  enjoyments  of  some 
natural  men  are  enough  in  respect  of  quantity,  yet 
still  there  is  certainly  wanting  a  true  and  sincere 
satisfaction  of  soul  in  such  possessions;  no  man  of 
all  these,  finds  that  real  happiness  in  those  things 
which  he  so  vehemently  hunteth  after.  Solomon 
reduces  all  the  pleasure  and  contentment,  that  is  to 
be  found  in  multiplied  riches,  to  a  very  pitiful  sum 
total :  "  What  good  is  there  to  the  owners  thereof, 
save  the  beholding  of  them  with  their  eyes  ?"  And, 
alas  !  what  is  the  sight  of  the  eye,  to  the  satisfaction 
of  the  soul  !  The  whole  visible  world  is  utterly 
too  scant  for,  and  incommensurate  to,  the  wide  and 
deep  capacity  of  an  immortal  spirit ;  so  that  the 
same  can  no  more  satisfy  than  a  less  can  fill  a 
greater,  which  is  surely  impossible.      Whatever  is 


223 

in  the  world  out  of  God,  is  described  by  the  pro- 
phet, Isa.  Iv.  2.  to  be  "  not  bread,"  there  is  the  uii- 
suitableness;  and  "  not  to  satisfy,"  there  is  the  in- 
sufficiency of  it,  as  to  the  soul  of  man.  On  the  other 
hand,  the  soul  of  man  is  so  vastly  capacious,  that 
though  it  be  also  ever  so  greedy  and  rapacious, 
snatching  on  the  right  hand,  and  catching  on  the 
left  hand,  as  the  prophet  describes  the  famishing 
people,  Isa.  ix.  20.  yet  still  it  is  hungry  and  unsa- 
tisfied. Which  ravenous  and  insatiable  appetite  of 
the  sensual  soul,  is  described  by  the  prophet,  in  the 
similitude  of  a  whorish  woman,  who  prostituted  her- 
self to  all  comers,  *'  and  multiplieth  her  fornications," 
yet  is  "  unsatiable,  is  not,  cannot  be  satisfied."  The 
soul  may  indeed  feed,  yea,  and  surfeit  upon,  but  it 
can  never  satisfy  itself,  from  any  created  good ;  no- 
thing can  ultimately  determine  and  centre  the  mo- 
tions of  a  soul,  but  something  superior  to  its  own 
essence :  which,  whilst  it  misses  of,  it  is,  as  it  were, 
divided  against  itself,  perpetually  struggling  and 
fluctuating,  and  travelling  in  pangs,  with  some  new 
design  or  other,  to  be  at  rest ;  like  the  old  lioness, 
in  the  parable  of  Ezekiel,  breeding  up  one  vvhelp 
after  another,  to  be  a  lion  wherein  to  confide,  but 
disappointed  in  all ;  or,  like  the  poor  discontented 
butterfly,  lighting  and  catching  every  where,  but 
sticking  no  where,  adoring  something  for  a  god  to- 
day, which  it  will  be  ready  to  fling  into  the  fire  to- 
morrow, after  their  manner  of  creating  gods  to 
themselves. 

Neither  the  quantity,  variety,  nor  duration,  of 
any  created  objects  can  possibly  fill  up  that  large  and 
noble  capacity  wherewith  God  hath  endued  the  ra- 


224 

tional  soul ;  but  having  departed  from  its  centre, 
and  not  knowing  bow  to  return  to  its  original,  it 
wanders  up  and  down,  as  it  were,  in  a  wilderness, 
and  baving  an  imperfect  glimmering  sigbt  at  some- 
tbing  better  tban  what  itself  as  yet  eitber  is  or  batb, 
but  not  being  able  to  attain  to  it,  is  miserably  tor- 
mented, even  as  a  man  in  a  tbirst  wbicb  be  cannot 
quench ;  yea,  tbe  more  be  runs  up  and  down  to  seek 
water,  tbe  more  is  bis  thirst  increased  whilst  he 
misses  of  it;  so  this  distempered  and  distracted  soul, 
whilst  it  seeks  to  quench  its  thirst  at  the  creature- 
cistern,  does  but  inflame  it,  and,  in  a  continual  pur- 
suit of  rest,  becomes  most  restless.  That  every  un- 
regenerate  soul  is  in  such  a  distressed,  weary,  rest- 
less state,  as  I  have  been  describing,  appears  most 
evidently  by  those  famous  gospel  proclamations; 
one  in  Isa.  Iv.  1,  3.  "  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth, 
come  ye  to  the  waters ;"  where,  by  the  thirsters,  are 
meant  those  unfixed,  unsatisfied  souls,  as  appears  by 
the  second  verse;  tbe  other  in  Matth.  xi.  28.  "  Come 
unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour,"  &c.  where  the  promise  of 
giving  rest,  does  plainly  imply  the  restless  state  of 
tbe  persons  invited.  There  is  a  certain  horror  and 
anguish  in  sin  and  wickedness,  even  long  before  it 
be  swallowed  up  in  bell ;  a  certain  vanity  and  vexa- 
tion folded  up  in  all  earthly  enjoyments,  though  the 
same  do  not  always  sting  and  pierce  the  soul  alike ; 
so  true  is  that  famous  aphorism  of  the  prophet 
Isaiah,  "  There  is  no  peace  to  the  wicked." 

4.  "  Grace  takes  not  away  this  thirst  of  the  soul 
after  happiness  and  plenary  satisfaction."  Love 
and  desire,  and  a  tendency  towards  blessedness,  are 
so  woven  into  tbe  nature  of  the  soul,  and  inlaid  in 


225 

the  very  essence  of  it,  that  she  cannot  possibly  put 
them  off;  however,  it  is  the  work  of  grace  to  change 
and   rectify  them,   as  we   shall  see   under   the  next 
head.      The    soul  of  man    is  a  kind  of  immaterial 
fire,  an  inextinguishable  activity,  always  necessarily 
catching  at  some   object  or   other,    in   conjunction 
with  which  she  thinks  to  be  happy;  and,  therefore, 
if  she  be  rent  from   herself  and  the  world,   and  be 
mortified  to  the  love  of  fleshly  and  animal  lusts,  she 
will  certainly  cleave  to  som.e  higher  and  more  excel- 
lent object,   as  will  more  clearly  appear  by  and  by. 
Grace  does  not  stupify  the  soul  as  to  its  sense  of  its 
own  indigency  and   poverty,  but,   indeed,   makes  it 
more  abundantly  sensible  and  importunate.      There 
are  more  strong  motions,   and  more  powerful  appe- 
tites in  the  godly  soul  towards  its  true  and  proper 
happiness,   than  in  the   ungodly  and  wicked.      For 
the  understanding  of  the   regenerate  soul  is  so  en- 
lightened,  as  that  it    doth    present   the    will   with 
an    amiable  and   satisfactory  object;    which   object, 
therefore,  being  more  distinctly  and  perfectly  appre- 
hended, doth  also  apprehend,  or  lay  hold  upon,  the 
soul,  and  attract  her  unto  itself.     That  "  the  eyes  are 
leaders  in  love,"  is  most  true  of  the  eye  of  the  soul ; 
I  mean  the  understanding,  that  first  affects  the  heart 
with  amorous  passions.      The  first  and  fundamental 
error  and  mistake  of  the  rational  soul,   seems  to  lie 
here,  even  in  the  understanding;  here  lies  the  very 
root  of  the  degenerate  soul's  distemper;  and  if  this 
were  thoroughly  restored   and  healed,    so  as  to  pre- 
sent the  will  with  pure  and  proper  ideas  and  repre- 
sentations of   God,   it   might   be    hoped,   that  this 
ductile   faculty  would    not   be  long   before  it  clave 

k3 


226 

unto  him  entirely ;  nay,  it  may  be  doubted,  whether 
it  could  possibly  resist  the  dictates  of  it.  Now,  in 
the  regenerate  soul,  this  faculty  is  repaired ;  yea,  I 
may  say,  that  the  spirit  of  regeneration,  first  of  all 
spreads  itself  into  the  understanding,  and  awakens 
in  it  a  sense  of  self-indigency,  and  of  the  perfect, 
all-sufficient,  suitable,  and  satisfactory  fulness  of 
God,  in  whom  it  sees  all  beauty,  sweetness,  and 
loveliness,  in  an  infinitely  ineffable  manner,  wrapt  up 
and  contained  ;  which  will  be  so  far  from  allaying 
the  essential  thirst  of  the  soul,  and  stifling  its  eager 
gaspings,  that  it  must  needs  give  a  mighty  edge  and 
ardour  to  its  inclinations,  and  put  it  upon  a  more 
bold  and  earnest  contention  towards  this  glorious 
object,  and  charm  of  the  whole  soul,  into  the  very 
arms  of  God.  Therefore,  not  *  thirsting,'  in  the  text, 
must  not  be  understood  absolutely,  as  if  grace  did 
utterly  extinguish  the  natural  activities  of  the  soul 
ai>d  its  propensions  ;  but  the  regenerate  and  gracious 
soul  doth  not  thirst  in  such  a  sense,  as  thirst  implies 
a  want  of  a  suitable  good,  or  dissatisfaction,  or  in- 
cludes torment  properly  so  called.  In  this  notion 
of  thirst,  grace  doth  indeed  quench  it,  as  I  intimated 
in  the  beginning  of  this  discourse,  and  will  further 
appear  in  the  procedure  of  it.  But,  as  to  this  most 
essential  thirst,  this  natural  desire,  or  vergency,  of 
the  soul  after  central  rest  and  happiness,  the  same 
is  so  far  from  being  extinguished,  or  moderated,  by 
divine  grace,  that  it  is  greatly  improved,  and  mightily 
inflamed  thereby.  I  suppose  I  need  not  enlarge 
upon  so  acknowledged  a  subject ;  therefore,  I  will 
but  present  you  with  the  instances  of  holy  David  in 
the  Old  Testament,  and  gracious  Paul  in  the  New. 


227 

I  need  not,  I  suppose,  magnify  the  holy  and  divine 
frame  of  David's  spirit,  by  any  rhetoric  of  mine; 
God  himself  hath  given  the  amplest  testimony,  and 
fairest  character  of  him,  that  I  remember  to  have 
been,  at  any  time,  given  of  any  man,  when  he  owns 
him  for  "  a  man  after  his  own  heart;"  and  what  a 
longing,  thirsting  soul  this  was,  I  need  do  no  more 
to  demonstrate,  than  to  turn  you  to  some  passages 
and  professions  of  his  own  in  his  devout  Psalms ; 
such  as  Psalm  xlii.  1.  Ixiii.  1.  cxliii.  6.  where  he 
borrows  the  strongest  inclinations  that  are  to  be 
found  in  the  whole  creation,  to  represent  the  devout 
ardours  of  his  own  soul :  "  As  the  hart  panteth 
after  the  water  brooks,  so  panteth  my  soul  after 
thee,  O  God. — O  God,  thou  art  my  God ;  early 
will  I  seek  thee  :  my  soul  thirsteth  for  thee,  my 
flesh  longeth  for  thee  in  a  dry  and  thirsty  land, 
where  no  water  is.^^ — I  stretch  forth  my  hands  unto 
thee;  my  soul  thirsteth  after  thee,  as  a  thirsty  land.'* 
Yea,  he  seems  like  one  that  would  swoon  away  for 
very  longing :  "  Hear  me  speedily,  O  Lord ;  my 
spirit  faileth:  hide  not  thy  face  from  me,  lest  I  be 
like  unto  them  that  go  down  into  the  pit. — I  lift 
up  my  soul  unto  thee.- — I  flee  unto  thee,"  &c. 
The  very  same  temper  you  will  find  in  holy  Paul, 
that  chosen  vessel  of  God,  if  you  peruse  his  epistles, 
in  all  which  you  will  meet  with  devout  and  strong 
breathings  of  the  same  kind ;  particularly,  Phil.  iii. 
11,  12,  13,  14.  where  he  seems  to  be  so  thirsty 
after  a  state  of  heavenly  perfection,  that  he  longs 
after,  if  I  mistake  not  the  meaning  of  the  11th 
verse,  something  that  yet  he  knows  he  cannot  arrive 
at  whilst  he  is  in  this  world,  even  the  resurrection 


228 

of  the  dead,  or  such  a  perfect  state  of  purity  and 
hoHness,  as  belongs  to  the  children  of  the  resurrec- 
tion. 

5.  "  The  godly  soul  thirsteth  no  more  after  hap- 
piness in  any  creature,  nor  rests  in  any  worldly 
thing,  but  in  God  alone."  This  particular  consists 
also  of  two  branches;  the  former  and  negative  part 
whereof  seems  to  me  to  contain  in  it  the  scope  and 
meaning  of  our  Saviour,  in  these  words  which  I  am 
now  interpreting.  We  have  already  seen,  that 
every  unsanctified  soul  is  restless,  and  craving, 
wavering,  unsatisfied,  inconstant  to  itself,  and  its 
choice.  By  reason  of  its  natural  activity,  it  is  always 
spending  itself  in  restless  and  giddy  motions ;  but, 
by  reason  of  its  ignorance,  and  unacquaintedness 
with  the  one  supreme  and  all-sufficient  good,  and 
the  multiplicity  of  lower  ends  and  objects,  it  is 
miserably  distracted,  and  doth  necessarily  grapple 
with  inevitable  disturbances,  in  a  continual  unsteadi- 
ness, putting  forth  itself  now  towards  one  thing, 
anon  to  another,  courting  every  thing,  but  matching 
with  nothing;  like  a  fickle  lover,  that  is  always  en- 
amoured with  the  last  feature  he  saw,  or  a  greedy 
merchant,  that  being  equally  in  love  with  the  plea- 
sure of  being  at  home,  and  the  profit  of  being 
abroad,  can  stay  long  nowhere  with  any  content, 
but  has  always  most  mind  of  the  place  where  he 
is  not. 

The  description  that  our  Lord  gives  of  the  un- 
clean spirit  that  "  is  gone  out  of  a  man,"  seems  very 
aptly  to  agree  to  that  unclean  spirit  that  is  in  man, 
that,  being  departed  from  God,  its  proper  rest  and 
habitation,  walketh  through  dry  and  desert  places ;  I 


S29 

mean,  empty  and  unsatisfying  creature-enjoyments, 
seeking  rest,  but  finding  none.  It  was  an  acci- 
dental affliction  of  believers,  but  is  the  natural  and 
necessary  affliction  of  every  unbelieving  and  wicked 
soul,  to  wander  up  and  down  the  world  destitute, 
afflicted,  tormented.  Sinful  self  is  so  multiform  ; 
and  that  one  root,  the  animal  life,  has  such  a  world 
of  branches,  that  it  is  impossible  to  administer  due 
nourishment  to  them  all;  and  yet  they  are  all  im- 
portunate and  greedy  suckers  too :  so  that  he  must 
needs  have  a  difficult  task,  and  a  painful  province, 
that  is  constrained  to  attend  upon  so  many,  so  differ- 
ent, and  yet  all  of  them  so  impatient,  and  imperious 
masters.  But  I  shall  lose  ground  by  thus  going 
backward  to  what  I  spoke  to  under  the  second  head, 
except  I  can  make  this  advantage  of  it,  to  enforce 
that  which  I  was  going  to  speak  of,  with  the  greater 
strength  and  clearer  evidence.  The  case  standing 
thus  with  the  unregenerate  soul,  as  we  have  seen  in 
this  short  review,  I  now  say,  that  divine  grace  allays 
the  multifarious  thirst  of  the  soul  after  other  waters, 
of  which  it  could  never  yet  drink  deep,  or,  if  it 
drunk  ever  so  deep,  could  not  be  quenched;  it  de- 
termines the  soul  to  one  object,  which  before  was 
rent  in  pieces  amongst  many.  It  does  not  destroy 
any  of  the  natural  powers,  nor  dry  up  the  innate 
vigour  of  the  soul,  as  I  made  evident  under  the  last 
head,  but  it  takes  it  off  from  the  chase  of  all  inferior 
ends,  and  inadequate  objects,  setting  it  upon  a  vehe- 
ment pursuit  of,  and  causing  it  to  spend  all  its  powers 
not  less  vigorously,  but  far  more  rationally  and  satis- 
torily  upon,  that  object  worthy  of  our  love,  the  in- 
finitely amiable  and  self-sufficient  God.      When  the 


230 

soul  hath  once  met  with  this  glorious  object,  is  once 
mastered  with  this  supreme  good,  is  by  divine  grace, 
enlarged,  it  cannot,  with  any  ease,  stretch  itself  upon 
the  creature  any  more ;  that  is  too  scant  and  insuffi- 
cient for  it.  Certainly  the  soul  that  understands 
its  own  original,  nature,  and  capacity,  and  once  comes 
to  view  itself  in  God,  will  see  itself  too  large  to  be 
bounded  by  the  narrow  confines  of  self,  or  any  crea- 
ture, and  too  free  to  be  bound  down  and  chained  to 
any  earthly  object  whatever.  The  world  indeed 
may,  yea,  and  will  labour  to  take  off  the  soul; 
"  What  is  thy  Beloved  more  than  another  beloved," 
that  thou  art  so  fond  of  him?  "  Are  not  Abana 
and  Pharpar,  rivers  of  Damascus,  better  than  all  the 
waters  of  Israel?"  Be  content,  here  is  hay  and  pro- 
vender; stay  with  me  this  night;  let  us  dally  and  make 
merry  together  a  little  longer.  But  these  Syrenian 
songs  are  sung  to  a  deaf  ear:  they  cannot  enchant 
the  wise  and  devout  soul,  that  hath  her  senses  rightly 
awakened,  and  exercised  to  discern  between  good 
and  evil.  Oh  no,  "  I  am  sick  of  love,"  and  sick  of 
every  thing  that  keeps  me  from  my  Beloved;  and 
and  therefore,  however  you  may  go  about  to  defile 
me  through  fraud  or  force,  through  surprise  or 
violence,  yet  I  will  not  prostitute  myself  to  you. 
The  gracious  soul  hath  now  discovered  the  most 
beautiful,  perfect,  and  lovely  object,  even  him  whose 
name  is  love  itself;  which  glorious  vision  hath  so 
blasted  and  withered  the  choicest  flowers  in  nature's 
garden,  that  they  have  now  "no  more  form  or  comeli- 
ness, beauty  or  fragrancy,  as  to  deserve  to  be  de- 
sired; she  hath  tasted  the  pure  and  perfect  sweet- 
ness of  the  fountain,  which  hath  so  imbittered  all 


231 

cistern-waters,  that  she  finds  no  more  thirstings  in 
herself  after  them  ;  which  is  that  which  our  Saviour 
promiseth  here,  "  shall  never  thirst."  A  godly  soul 
eannot  possibly  be  put  off  with  any  thing  short  of 
God;  give  him  his  God,  or  he  dies;  give  him  ever 
so  much  fair  usage  in  the  world,  ever  so  much  of 
earthly  accommodations,  they  are  not  accommodated 
to  her  wants  and  thirsts,  if  they  have  not  that  God 
in  them,  out  of  whom  all  worldly  pleasures  are  even 
irksome  and  unpleasant,  and  all  fleshly  ease  is  tedious 
and  painful :  creature-employments  are  but  a  weari- 
some drudgery  to  a  soul  that  is  acquainted  with  the 
work  of  angels;  and  creature-enjoyments,  in  them- 
selves considered,  are  very  insignificant,  if  not  bur- 
densome, to  a  mind  that  is  feelingly  possessed  of 
the  chiefest  good. 

But  here  it  will  be  seasonable,  to  take  into  con- 
sideration a  grand  inquiry,  namely.  Whether  a 
godly  man  may  not  be  said,  in  some  sense,  to  desire 
the  creature,  and  how  far  such  a  person  may  be  said 
to  thirst  after  it.  This  I  shall  speak  to  as  briefly, 
and  yet  as  clearly  as  I  can,  in  these  four  following 
particulars. 

1.  "  All  godly  souls  are  not  equally  mortified  to 
worldly  loves,  nor  equally  zealous  and  importunate 
lovers  of  God."  This  is  so  evident,  that  I  need 
not  insist  upon  it.  Abraham  seems  to  have  been 
as  much  higher  and  nobler  in  spirit  than  his  brother 
Lot,  as  Lot  was  more  excellent  than  one  of  the  or- 
dinary sons  of  Adam,  I  had  almost  said,  than  one  of 
the  Sodomites  amongst  whom  he  dwelt.  The  one 
leaves  all  the  pleasant  and  plentiful  accommodations 
of  his  native  country,  at  the  very  first  calling  out,  not 


knowing  whither  he  went,  only  relying  upon  the 
gracious  guidance  of  him  whom  he  followed ;  he 
seems  to  reckon  all  soils  alike  for  his  sojourning, 
and  the  whole  habitable  world  as  his  own  city  and 
home,  as  appears  by  his  readiness  to  break  up  house, 
and  quit  his  present  habitation,  rather  than  interfere 
with  the  conveniences  of  his  nephew,  Gen.  xiii.  9. 
The  other  preferred  a  fruitful  soil  before  a  faithful 
society,  and  so,  in  some  sense,  his  body  before  his 
soul;  and  yet,  as  if  it  had  not  been  enough  to  make 
so  unadvised  a  choice,  he  rests  in  it  too  ;  yea,  though 
he  was  so  severely  reproved  by  the  captivity  that  be- 
fel  him  there,  whereby  he  was  not  so  much  called, 
as  indeed  carried  away  thence;  yet  this  will  not 
loosen  him  from  his  earthly  conveniences,  but  he  re- 
turns to  Sodom,  and  from  thence  he  will  not  part 
till  he  be  fired  out,  nay,  and  then  also  it  is  with  much 
lingering  and  loathness.  Gen.  xix.  16.  It  is  evi- 
dent, I  say,  both  from  this,  and  many  other  instances 
which  I  purposely  omit,  that  it  is  so,  that  all  godly 
souls  are  not  equally  careless  of  these  earthly  things, 
nor  carried  out  with  equal  ardour  and  intemperance, 
as  I  may  call  it,  towards  the  supreme  and  most  glo- 
rious obiect ;  of  which  1  can  assign  no  fitter  reason 
than  this,  because  they  are  not  all  equally  godly. 
For, 

2.  "  "So  far  as  grace  prevails,  and  religion  in  the 
power  of  it  acteth  the  soul  in  which  it  is  planted,  so 
far  earthly  loves  decay  and  wither."  For  these 
two  cannot  stand  together,  the  love  of  the  world  is 
inconsistent  with  the  love  of  God:  "  If  any  man 
love  the  world,  the  love  of  the  Father  is  not  in 
him."      So  far  as  any^oul  is  sanctified,  so  far  is  it 


233 

mortified  also  to  all  creature-enjoyments,  to  all 
things  that  are  only  fuel  for  the  animal  life,  honour, 
ease,  victory,  plenty,  liberty,  relations,  recreations, 
all  the  entertainments  and  delights  in  this  lower 
life,  yea,  and  this  very  life  itself.  Earthly  and 
heavenly  loves  are  to  each  other  as  the  two  ends  of 
a  pair  of  balances,  save  that  they  are  never  found 
equally  poizing,  as  the  one  rises,  the  other  falls  ;  just 
so  much  advantage  as  this  gets,  that  loses.  The 
more  the  sensual  and  self-central  life  thrives  and 
prospers,  and  the  creature  is  exalted,  the  more  re- 
ligion and  the  divine  life  fainteth  and  flaggeth  in  the 
soul :  and  as  certainly,  on  the  other  hand,  the  more 
divine  grace  prevails,  and  the  divine  life  flourisheth 
in  the  soul,  the  more  all  earthly  objects  wither  away 
and  lose  their  beauty,  and  the  soul  cooleth  and  lan- 
guisheth  as  to  its  love  and  desire  of  them.  So  far 
as  a  regenerate  soul  is  unregenerate,  so  far  will  she 
be  bustling  after  other  lovers :  which  regeneration 
will  not,  I  conceive,  be  thoroughly  perfected,  and 
therefore  these  lustings  not  utterly  extinguished,  till 
this  mortal  put  on  immortality;  or,  as  the  Apostle 
speaks  elsewhere,  till  "  mortality  be  swallowed  up 
of  life." 

3.  For  the  preventing  of  rash  and  uncharitable 
judging,  I  do  affirm,  that  "  divine  and  holy  souls 
are  oft  mistaken  by  them  that  behold  their  ordinary 
converse  and  actions  in  the  body."  They  are 
thought  sometimes  to  take  pleasure  in  the  creature, 
and  to  gratify  the  flesh,  when  indeed  it  is  no  such 
matter;  but  they  take  pleasure  in  the  image  of 
God,  or  the  evidence  of  his  fatherly  love,  which 
they  contemplate  therein,  and  do,   perhaps  most  of 


234 

all,  serve  a  spiritual  end,   and  an  eternal  design,  in 
those  very  actions  which  others  may  think  are  cal- 
culated, for  the  gratification  of  the  animal  life,   and 
the   service   of  the   flesh.       Let  not  the  purblind 
world,  nor  the  self-befriending  hypocrite,  be  judge, 
and  it  will  appear,  that  the  truly  godly  soul   counts 
nothing    savoury    to    itself,    but    what    represents, 
teaches,   exhibits  something  of  God,  nothing  plea- 
sant, but  what  hath  a  tendency  to  him  :   such  a  soul 
doth  not  feel  himself  in  his  highest   raptures,   doth 
not   taste   himself  in   his   noblest  accomplishments, 
doth  not  seek  himself  in  his  most  excellent  perform- 
ances.     Be   not    mistaken,    he    doth    not  so   much 
thirst  after  long  life,  riches,  friends,  liberty,  as  in- 
deed after  God  in  them  all ;    these  all  signify  no- 
thing to  him,  if  they  bring  him  not  nearer  to  his 
God,  and  conduce  to  his   real  and  spiritual  happi- 
ness.     Yea,  possibly,  in  his  most  suspected  actions, 
and   those  that  seem   most  alien  from  religion,  and 
most  designed  to  please  the  flesh,  he  may  be  highly 
spiritual  and  pure :   so  was  our  blessed  Saviour,   we 
know,   even  in  his  conversing  with  scandalous  sin- 
ners,   eating  and  drinking  with  publicans,   and  no- 
torious  offenders,    however   he    was   traduced  by  a 
proud  and  hypocritical  generation ;  and  so,    I  doubt 
not,  is  many  a  good  Christian,  according  to  his  mea- 
sure,  pure  as  Christ   was   pure.      When  a  painted 
hypocrite,   who  can  guess  at  the  temper  of  others 
no  other  way  but  by  what  he  finds  in  himself,   and 
by  what  he  should  be  and  do,  if  he  were  under  the 
same  circumstances,  comes  to  be  judge  of  the  actions 
or  disposition  of  one,  who  is  transformed  into  the 
image  of  the  divine  freedom  and  benignity,  you  may 


^35 

easily  imagine  what  a  perverse  sentence  he  will  pass. 
It  needs  not  seem  very  strange,  methinks,  in  spiri- 
tuals, any  more  than  it  is  in  corporeals,  that  the  most 
sound  and  healthful  constitutions  should,  upon  a 
lawful  call,  adventure  themselves  further  than  the 
crazy  and  sickly,  and  familiarly  converse  with  and 
handle,  yea,  and  make  good  work  with  those  briars 
and  thorns,  which  would  prove  a  snare  or  a  wound, 
or  a  pricking  temptation  to  others.  If  it  were  pos- 
sible for  any  man  to  arrive  at  the  purity  and  perfec- 
tion  of  his  Saviour,  and  his  firm  and  immoveable 
radication  in  true  goodness,  he  would  find  himself 
so  wholly  dead  to  sin,  and  all  temptations  and  mo- 
tions thereunto,  that  he  would  be  able  to  walk  upon 
the  most  boisterous  waves,  without  fear  of  being 
swallowed  up  in  them,  and  to  take  up  in  his  hands 
the  most  venemous  serpent,  not  dreading  the  sting 
of  it.  However,  the  apprehensions  and  actions  of 
more  perfect  and  refined  souls  are  not  rashly  to  be 
judged;  for  they  may  easily  be  mistaken,  either  by 
the  unhallowed  hypocrite,  or  the  more  imperfect  and 
impotent  saint. 

4.  To  answer  yet  more  fully,  I  do  affirm,  that 
"  no  truly  religious  soul  in  the  world  doth  so  thirst 
after  the  creature,  as  to  place  his  main  happiness  in 
it,  or  to  seek  satisfaction  from  it."  However,  all 
holy  souls  may  not  be  alike  weaned  from  the  world, 
nor  equally  loving  of  God,  however  the  affections 
and  actions  of  some  may  really  be,  and  of  others 
may  seem  to  be  too  gross  and  fleshly,  yet  no  one  of 
all  these,  in  whom  this  new  and  divine  life  is  indeed 
found,  doth  erect  a  self-supremacy  in  his  own  soul, 
nor  take  his  full  and  complete  rest  and  happiness  to 


236 

consist  in  any  creature-communion  whatsoever. 
Surely  this,  of  not  thirsting,  is  so  far  a  consequent 
of  true  religion,  as  that  no  religious  soul  in  the 
world  can  be  content  to  exchange  the  presence  of 
God,  and  acquaintance  with  him,  for  any  thing,  or 
for  all  things  besides ;  or,  if  you  will,  plainly  thus, 
no  such  person  could  be  content,  no,  not  for  all  the 
world,  the  glory  of  heaven  not  excepted,  if  it  may 
be  supposed  to  be  wicked  and  ungodly :  so  that,  by 
thirsting  here,  must  not  be  meant  some  weak  wish- 
ings,  and  fainter  propensions  of  the  soul  towards 
created  objects;  for  certainly  there  is  no  soul  found 
in  a  body  of  earth,  in  which  these  are  not  found, 
no,  nor  yet  some  more  lively  and  stronger  strugglings 
after  them,  (how  strong  they  may  be  in  a  good 
Christian,  and  yet  predominated  over  by  grace,  we 
cannot  punctually  determine;)  but,  by  thirsting 
here,  must  be  meant  the  most  quick  and  powerful 
breathings,  the  highest  and  strongest  ardencies,  the 
predominant  and  victorious  motions  and  desires  of 
the  soul,  which  do,  as  it  were,  fold  up  the  whole 
soul,  and  lead  all  its  powers  and  faculties  with  it 
into  a  grateful  captivity.  Thus  shall  he  thirst  no 
more,  who  hath  once  drunk  of  these  waters  which 
flow  forth  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord  of  life, 
and  which  the  blessed  Redeemer  of  the  world  is  here 
said  to  give. 

But,  which  is  the  latter  branch  of  this  particular, 
this  inspired  soul  which  we  have  been  describing, 
thirsteth  after  his  happiness  in  God  alone,  that  is, 
in  the  enjoyment  of  him.  We  have  already  seen, 
that  grace  does  not  destroy  the  natural  and  essential 
longings  of  the  soul  after  a  satisfactory  good,  but 


237 

rather   enhance   them,   and  that  the  godly  soul  is 
most  thirsty  of  all,   but  not  with  a  creature-thirst, 
as  is  before  proved;  it  remains  then,  that  his  thirst- 
ing after  rest  and  happiness  is  terminated  upon  God 
alone.      And  so,  indeed,  it  appears  in  the  instances 
of  holy  men   recorded  in  holy  writ,   which   I   have 
under  the  last  head  spoken  something  to.      But  to 
those  passages  and  professions   which   I  quoted  out 
of  Psal.  xlii.  1,  2,  &c.  you  may  add  such  as  Psal. 
iv.    6.    which    is    the   voice   of   every    godly    soul, 
"  Lord,  lift  thou   up  the  light  of  thy  countenance 
upon  us."     Psal.  xxxix.  6,  7.     "  Surely  every  man 
walketh  in  a  vain  show;   surely  they  are  disquieted 
in  vain  :   he  heapeth   up  riches,"  &c.      "  And  now, 
Lord,  what  wait  I  for?  my  hope  is  in  thee:"  where 
you  have  the  different  seekings  and  centrings  of  the 
ungodly,  and  of  the  godly  soul,  elegantly  described. 
Lastly,  you  may,  in  Psal.  Ixxiii.  25.  again  view  the 
term  or  end  of  the  godly  man's  ambition :   **  Whom 
have  I  in  heaven  but  thee  ?  and  there  is  none  upon 
earth  that  I  desire  besides  thee."      Which  trans- 
lation of  the  words  doth,  in  a  lively  manner,  set  out 
the  godly  man's  end  and  aim,   and  object,  and  hap- 
piness, and  indeed  his  all:  or,  if  we  translate  it,  per- 
haps more  fitly,  with   Mollerus,   yet  they  afford  us 
the  same  doctrine,   "  Who  will  give  me  to  be  in 
heaven,  and  with  thee?  on  earth  I  desire  nothing." 
And  thus  have  we  despatched  the  fifth  proposi- 
tion, namely,  that  the  godly  soul  thirsteth  no  more 
after  happiness  in  any  creature,  or  rest  in  any  worldly 
thing;  and  come  to  the  sixth  and  last  particular  de- 
signed for  the  explication  of  this  not  thirsting  of  the 
religious  soul,  which  is  this :— 


238 

In  the  enjoyment  of  God,  this  soul  is  at  rest,  is  fully 
satisfied.  1  do  not  mean  so  satisfied,  as  not  to  thirst 
after  any  more  of  him,  as  I  have  often  hinted ;  but 
so  satisfied,  as  to  be  perfectly  matched  with  an  object 
transcendently  adequate  to  all  its  faculties,  and  their 
respective  capacities;  and  so  satisfied,  as  to  have  peace 
and  joy,  and  triumph  in  him.  To  these  two  I  will 
speak  distinctly,  and  so  pass  on. 

Now,  for  the  better  understanding  of  the  first  of 
these,  it  should  be  noticed,  that  the  reasonable  soul, 
and  the  faculties  of  it,  are  of  a  vast,  large,  and  noble 
capacity.  It  is  universally  granted  by  all,  that  are 
not  Sadducees,  that  the  capacity  of  angels  is  very 
great  and  noble;  and  that  the  condition  of  the  hu- 
man soul  is  not  much  inferior  to  it,  may  I  think,  be 
gathered  from  the  Psalmist's  words :  "  Thou  hast 
made  him  a  little  lower  than  the  angels;"  which 
words,  although  the  author  to  the  epistle  to  the  He- 
brews applies  them  to  Christ,  Heb.  ii.  9.  and,  indeed, 
they  have  a  marvellous  aptness  to  him,  according  to 
the  Dutch  translation,  which  runs  thus,  **  We  see 
Jesus  crowned  with  glory  and  honour,  who  was  be- 
come a  little  lesser  than  the  angels,  by  reason  of 
the  sufferings  of  death ;  that  he  should  by  the  grace 
of  God,"  &c.  yet  I  see  nothing  hindering,  but  that 
they  may  be  well  applied  to  the  excellent  condition 
of  man  by  creation;  especially  considering  that  many 
other  passages  of  the  Old  Testament  have  a  double 
aspect,  one  more  ordinary  and  obvious,  which  was 
most  clearly  understood  by  the  prophet  that  wrote 
them;  the  other  more  abstruse  and  mysterious,  prin- 
cipally intended  by  the  Spirit  that  inspired  him,  and 
only  to  be  understood  by  the  revelation  of  the  same 


239 

Spirit:  such  are  those  passages,  I  conceive,  which  are 
found   in   Isa.  vii.  14.   Hosea  xi.  1.  interpreted  by 
the  evangelist.  Matt.  i.  23.  and  ii.  15.  as  also  Jer. 
xxxi.  15.   with  many  more.      But,  however  it  goes 
with  that  text,  and  whether  or  not  the  souls  of  men 
be  so  near  of  kindred  to  the  angels,  as  to  their  own 
comprehensions;  yet,  that  they  are  capable  of  a  most 
noble   and  excellent  happiness,    and  much  allied  to 
God  himself,  doth  appear  from  such  texts  of  Scrip- 
ture, as  do  require  them  to  be   "  holy,  as  God  is 
holy,"  to  be  "  perfect,   as  their  heavenly  Father  is 
perfect."      Neither  need  it  seem  to  any  incredible, 
that  the  rational  soul  should  be  so  capacious;  for  we 
are  no  more  to  judge  of  the  angelical  temper,  and 
noble  actings  of  the  separated  soul,  by  what  we  see 
it  to  be  and  do  in  this  body  of  flesh,  than  one  can 
judge  of  the  prowess  and  puissance  of  a  renowned 
warrior  in  the  head  of  an  army,  by  what  we  discern 
in  him  when  he  lies  bound  in  chains,  or  of  the  power 
and  splendour  of  the  sun,  by  what  we  discern  of  it 
when  it  is  eclipsed,  or  miserably  beclouded ;   or,  if 
you  will,  no  more  than  we  can  judge  of  a  man,  by 
the  imperfections  of  his  childhood:  for  so  the  Apostle 
Paul  seems  to  state  the  case,    1  Cor.  xiii.  10,  11. 
plainly  implying,  that  the  present  and  future  condi- 
tion of  the  soul  is  comparable  to  the  minority  and 
adult  state  of  a  man  ;  as  if  he  had  said,  the  soul,  in 
its  future  and  separate  state,  will  act  as  much  nobler 
than  what  it  doth  now,  as  the  soul  of  the  wisest  and 
discreetest  man  in  the  world  acteth  more  nobly  than 
what  it  did  when  he  was  a  child :   yea,  and  what  is 
still  more  to  our  present  purpose,  he  seems  clearly 
to  intimate  in  the  twelfth  verse,  that  this  improve- 


240 

ment  shall  happen,  not  so  much  by  the  more  evident 
propounding  of  the  object,  as  by  the  more  ample 
illumination  and  corroboration  of  the  faculties.  In 
the  next  place,  it  will  be  easily  inferred,  that  all 
created  good  is  too  scant  and  insufficient  for  this 
capacious  spirit  of  man ;  too  short  a  bed  to  stretch 
itself  upon ;  nay,  it  cannot  contract  itself  so,  as  to 
be  accommodated  to  any  worldly  good,  without  pain 
and  anguish.  From  both  which,  it  will  be  naturally 
and  necessarily  concluded,  that  God  alone  is  that 
adequate  object  which  can  match  the  soul  of  man, 
and  satisfy  it,  as  being  infinitely  superior  and  tran- 
scendent to  it.  The  enjoyment  of  God  is  that  ulti- 
mate end,  and  perfect  good,  that  is  only  able  to  fix 
the  spirit  of  man,  which  otherwise,  not  meeting  with 
its  match,  would  be  tossed  to  and  fro,  and  labour 
under  perpetual  disquietness,  and  restless  fluctua- 
tions. God  is  that  almighty  goodness  and  sweet- 
ness, who  alone  is  able  to  draw  out  all  the  appetites 
of  the  soul  into  himself,  satisfy  all  its  cravings,  charm 
all  its  restless  motions,  and  cause  all  its  faculties,  in 
the  purest  and  most  complacential  manner,  to  con- 
spire together  to  give  up  themselves  wholly  and  en- 
tirely to  himself. 

Secondly,  From  this  conjunction  with  omnipotent 
goodness,  ariseth  pure  peace,  yea,  joy  and  triumph, 
to  the  religious  soul.  For  the  clearer  understand- 
ing of  this,  I  should  premise,  what  some  have  wisely 
observed,  that  there  is  a  natural  congruity  between 
God  and  the  soul,  she  being  a  spiritual  substance, 
and  he  being  a  spiritual  good,  only  suitable  to  her. 
This  seems  to  be  evident  by  experience;  for  we  see 
how  difficult,  I  had  almost  said,  impossible  it  is,  ut- 


^41 

terly  to  eradicate  and  extinguish  all  sense  of  virtue 
and  goodness  out  of  the  soul  of  man  ;  to  which  pur- 
pose I  think  our  divines  generally  speak,  when  they 
allow  of  some  holy  relics,  something  of  the  image  of 
God,  remaining  in  the  most  degenerate  souls,  how- 
ever all  men  have  reduced  the  same  to  a  very  poor  and 
inconsiderable  spark,  and  many  have  raked  that  very 
spark  under  ashes  too,  and  imprisoned  that  remainder 
of  truth  in  unrighteousness,  living  according  to  those 
unnatural  and  foreign  principles  and  conceptions  that 
they  have  unhappily  drunk  in.  Hence  it  is,  I  sup- 
pose, that  sin  and  wickedness  are  so  often  styled  the 
defilement  of  the  soul.  Now,  we  know,  that  whatso- 
ever defileth,  is  adventitious  and  improper,  and  hence 
it  is,  that  sin  many  times  stings  and  wounds  the 
consciences  of  those  that  take  most  pleasure  in  it, 
namely,  being  so  perfectly  contrary  to  this  noble  and 
inbred  sense  of  the  soul.  Allowing,  then,  this  natural 
sympathy  that  the  soul  of  man  hath  with  its  Creator, 
it  will  be  easy  to  give  a  philosophical  account  of  that 
peace,  joy,  and  triumph,  of  which  the  soul  must 
needs  be  possessed,  or  rather  indeed  transported 
with,  that  finds  and  feels  itself  in  conjunction  with 
its  centre,  and  in  the  dearest  embraces  of  its  Creator. 
It  need  not  seem  strange,  that  the  soul  should 
mightily  congratulate  itself  in  its  arrival  at  its  own 
haven;  nay  it  were  strange  if  it  should  not  dissolve 
into  secret  joy  and  pleasure  in  the  hearty  entertain- 
ments of  so  blessed  and  proper  a  guest  as  God  is  to 
it;  nay,  indeed  it  were  unreasonable  to  imagine,  that 
the  conjunction  of  so  noble  and  discerning  faculties, 
with  so  perfect  and  proper  an  object,  should  not  be- 
get the  truest  and  sincerest  delight  and  pleasure 

L  38 


242 

imaginable.  The  delights  of  an  earthly  and  sensual 
mind  are  filthy  and  dreggy,  in  comparison  of  these 
pleasures  of  the  refined  and  purified  soul;  which 
must  needs  live  most  gracefully,  triumphantly,  and 
deliciously,  when  it  converseth  with  God  most  inti- 
mately. Certainly,  if  there  be  any  innocent  and 
well-natured  self-feeling  or  self-pleasing,  in  the 
world,  this  is  it;  though,  indeed,  to  speak  truly,  it 
deserves  a  better  name.  It  cannot  be  but  that  a 
godly  soul,  being  in  its  right  senses,  should  taste 
a  sweetness  in  these  pure  and  divine  accomplish- 
ments wrought  in  it  by  the  eternal  Spirit  of  righ- 
teousness; which  self-pleasing  is  no  more  blameable, 
than  that  natural  pleasure,  which  every  creature  finds 
in  the  enjoyment  of  that  which  is  most  aptly  accom- 
modated to  its  necessities,  and  most  perfective  of  its 
happiness;  which  pleasure,  I  say,  ariseth  in  the  soul 
from  its  sensible  union  with  God  in  the  spirit,  and 
enjoyment  of  him.  By  which  enjoyment  of  God, 
you  will  easily  perceive  that  I  do  not  mean  the  bare 
pardon  of  sin,  or  an  abstract  justification  ;  for  this  is 
not  the  attainment  that  is  perfective  of  the  soul, 
neither  could  it  alone,  if  we  could  suppose  it  alone, 
fill  up  the  capacities  of  the  soul,  or  make  it  happy, 
)iowever  the  rapturous  joys  of  the  unprincipled  hypo- 
crite spring  principally  from  the  opinion  and  false 
apprehension  of  this;  which,  indeed,  I  take  to  be  a 
notable,  though  not  infallible,  sign  of  a  mercenary, 
low-spirited,  and  fleshly-minded  Christian :  but,  by 
it,  I  mean  the  soul's  being  really  regenerated  into 
the  image  of  God,  consisting  in  knowledge,  righte- 
ousness, and  holiness,  and  her  implantation  into  the 
root  Christ  Jesus,  by  which  she  partakes  of  his  divine 
life,  power,  and  Spirit. 


243 

And  yet,  besides  this,  I  conceive  there  is  a  more 
theological  account  to  be  given  of  these  joys  and 
pleasures  which  the  renewed  soul  doth  so  plentifully 
reap,  upon  her  return  to  God,  from  whom  she  had 
so  long  straggled  by  sin  and  wickedness.  For  the 
"  God  of  hope  filleth  the  godly  soul  with  all  peace 
and  joy  in  believing :"  Christ  doth  on  purpose  speak 
words  to  the  hearts  of  his  disciples,  that  their  "  joy 
may  be  full."  But  whether  the  most  benign  and 
gracious  Father  of  spirits  doth  immediately,  from 
himself,  inspire  the  holy  soul  with  divine  joys  and 
pleasures,  kindled,  as  I  may  say,  with  nothing  but 
his  own  breath :  or  whether  he  bring  them  to  his 
holy  mountain,  and  into  his  house  of  prayer,  and  by 
that,  or  any  other  like  means,  make  them  joyful  and 
of  glad  heart,  as  in  the  day  of  a  solemn  festival,  as 
he  hath  promised  to  do,  Isa.  Ivi.  7.  and  xxv.  6. 
however  it  be,  I  say,  sure  it  is  that  he  frequently 
puts  a  gladness  into  their  hearts  beyond  that  of  the 
harvest  or  the  vintage,  and  makes  them  to  rejoice 
with  "joy  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory.'* 

Having  now  unfolded  the  meaning  of  the  gracious 
soul's  not  thirsting  any  more,  I  should  pass  to  the 
last  thing  contained  in  the  text;  but  finding  myself 
oppressed  in  my  spirit,  by  the  consideration  of  this 
necessary  consequent  of  true  religion,  when  I  com- 
pare the  temper  of  Christians  with  it,  I  must  crave 
leave  to  stay  a  little,  and  breathe.  And  what  shall 
I  breathe  but  a  sad  and  bitter  complaint  over  that 
low,  earthly,  selfish,  greedy  spirit,  which  actuateth 
the  world  at  this  day,  yea,  and  the  generality  of 
professors  of  that  sacred  religion,  which  we  call 
Christianity.     Alas  !  what  a  company  of  thieves  and 

l2 


244 

murdevers-p~l  mean,  base  and  sensual  loves  and  lusts 
-■ — lodge  in  those  very  souls,  who  would  be  taken  for 
temples  consecrated  to  the  name,  and  honour,  and 
inhabitation  of  the  eternal  God,  the  Spirit  of  truth 
and  holiness.  Oh,  what  pity  is  it  that  the  precious 
souls  of  men,  yea,  and  of  Christians,  the  best  of  men, 
that  are  all  capable  of  so  glorious  liberty,  so  high 
and  honourable  a  happiness,  should  be  bound  down 
under  such  vile  and  sordid  lusts,  feeding  upon  dust 
and  gravel,  to  whom  the  hidden  manna  is  freely 
offered,  and  God  himself  is  ready  to  become  a  ban- 
quet !  And  O  what  a  shame  is  it  for  those  who 
profess  themselves  children  of  God,  disciples  of  the 
most  holy  Jesus,  and  heirs  of  his  pure  and  undefiled 
kingdom  of  heaven  ;  for  these,  I  say,  willingly  and 
greedily  to  roll  them.selves  in  filthy  and  brutish  sen- 
sualities, to  set  up  that  on  high  in  their  souls,  which 
was  made  to  be  under  their  bodies,  and  so  to  love 
and  live  as  if  they  studied  to  have  no  affinity  at  all, 
but  would  be  as  unlike  as  they  could  to  that  God 
and  Redeemer,  and  unfit  for  that  inheritance  !  Plow 
often  shall  it  be  protested  to  the  Christian  world,  by 
men  of  the  greatest  devotion  and  seriousness,  that  it 
is  utterly  mad,  and  perfectly  vain,  to  dream  of  enter- 
ing into  the  kingdom  of  heaven  hereafter,  except  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  enter  into  our  souls  during  their 
union  with  these  bodies?  How  long  shall  the  Son 
of  God,  who  came  into  the  world  on  purpose  to  be 
the  most  glorious  example  of  true  and  divine  purity, 
exact  and  perfect  self-denial  and  mortification ;  how 
long  shall  he  lie  by  in  his  word,  as  an  antiquated 
pattern  only  cut  out  for  the  apostolical  ages  of  the 
world,  and  only  suited  to  some  few  morose  and  me- 


245 

lancholic  men  ?      Is  it  not  a  monstrous  spectacle, 
and  to  be  hissed  out  of  the  world  with  the  greatest 
indignation,  a  covetous,  voluptuous,  ambitious,  sen- 
sual saint?     With  what  face  can  we  pretend  to  true 
relioion,    or  a  feeling  acquaintance  with  God,   and 
the  tilings  of  his  personal  service  and  kingdom,  whilst 
the  continual  bleatings  and  lowings  of  our  souls  after 
created  good  do  bewray  us  so  manifestly,  and  pro- 
claim before  all  the  world,  that  the  beast,  the  brutish 
life,  is  still  powerful  in  us?    "  If  ye  seek  me,"  saith 
Christ  to  his  followers,  as  well  as  he  did  once  to  his 
persecutors,  "  then  let  these  go ;"  let  go  the  hold  of 
these  earthly  objects,  let  vanish  these  worldly  joys 
and  toys  ;   "  Vv'ithhold  your  throat  from  thirst,  and 
your  feet  from  being  unshod,"  and  come  follow  me 
only,  and  ye  shall  have  treasure  in  heaven  ;  for  "  he 
that  will  not  deny  all  for  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me." 
Ah,  sad  and  dreadful  fiill,  that   hath   so  miserably 
cramped  this  royal  offspring,  and  made  the  King's 
son  to  be  a  lame  Mephibosheth  !     Ah  doleful  apos- 
tacy  !      How  are  the  sons  of  the  morning  become 
children  of  darkness,  and  the  heirs  of  heaven,  vassals 
and  drudo-es  to  earth  !     How  is  the  Kinjj's  dau>jhter 
unequally  yoked  with  a  churlish  Nabal,  that  continu- 
ally checketh  her  more  divine  and  generous  motions  ! 
"  How  unhappily  art  thou  matched,   O  my  soul  !" 
And  yet,   alas  !    I  see  it  is  too  properly  a  marriage  ; 
for  thou  hast  clean  forgotten   "  thine   own  people, 
and  thy  Father's  house."      Take  up.   Oh  take^up  a 
lamentation,   thou  virgin,    daughter  of  the  God  of 
Zion  :   sometimes  indeed  a  virgin,  but  now,  alas  !  no 
longer  a  virgin,  but  miserably  married  to  an  unworthy 
mate,  that  can  never  be  able  to  match  thy  faculties, 


246 

nor  maintain  thee  according  to  the  grandeur  of  thy 
birth,  or  the  necessary  pomp  of  thy  expenses,  and 
way  of  living ;  nay,  thou  art  become  not  only  a  miser- 
able wife,  but,  in  so  being,  thou  art  also  a  wicked 
adulteress,  prostituting  thyself  to  the  very  vilest  of 
thy  lawful  husband's  servants ;  if  thou  be  not  inces- 
tuous, it  is  no  thank  to  thee,  there  being  nothing  in 
this  world  so  near  of  kin  to  thee,  as  to  make  way  for 
incest.  '*  Return,  return,  O  Shulamite ;  return,  re- 
turn ;  put  away  thine  adulteries  from  between  thy 
breasts,  and  so  shall  the  King  yet  again  greatly  de- 
sire thy  beauty;"  for  so  he  hath  promised,  Jer.  iii. 
21.  that  when  there  shall  be  a  voice  heard  upon  the 
high  places,  weeping,  and  supplications  of  the  chil- 
dren of  Israel,  because  they  have  perverted  their  way, 
and  forgotten  the  Lord  their  God,  and  the  backslid- 
ing children  shall  return,  and  then  he  *'  will  heal 
their  backslidings." 


247 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

The  term  or  end  of  religion •,  eternal  life^  considered  in  a 
double  notion  :  First,  as  it  signifies  the  essential  happi- 
ness of  the  soul.  Second,  as  it  takes  in  many  glorious 
appendixes.  The  noble  and  genuine  breathings  of  the 
godly  soul  after,  and  springing  up  into,  the  former.  The 
argument  drawn  from  the  example  of  Christ.  Moses 
and  Paul  moderated.  It  ends  in  a  serious  exhortation 
made  to  Christians,  to  live  and  love  more  spiritually, 
more  suitably  to  the  nature  of  souls,  redeemed  souls,  re- 
sulting from  the  vohole  discourse. 

I  AM  now  come  to  the  last  thing  whereby  this 
most  noble  principle  is  described,  namely,  the  term 
or  end  of  it ;  and  that  is  said  here,  in  the  text,  to  be 
"  everlasting  life."  This  is  the  highest  pitch  of  per- 
fection, unto  which  the  new  creature  is  continually 
growing  up ;  which  the  Apostle  Paul  hath  expressed 
with  as  much  grand  eloquence,  as  words  are  able  to 
magnify  it,  calling  it  "  the  measure  of  the  stature  of 
the  fulness  of  Christ:"  this  is  that  unbounded  ocean, 
which  this  living  fountain,  by  so  many  incessant 
issues,  and  unwearied  streamings,  perpetually  en- 
deavours to  empty  itself  into,  or  rather  to  embosom 
itself  in.  Now,  what  this  is,  we  must  confess  with 
the  Apostle  John,  and  indeed  we  have  more  reason 
to  make  such  a  confession  than  he  had,  that  it  doth 
not  yet  appear,  namely,  neither  fully  nor  distinctly  : 
but  yet,  since  I  am  thus  cast  upon  the  contemplation 
of  it,  it  will  be  a  suitable  and  agreeable  matter  to 


S48 

inquire  into  it;  and  though  it  surpass  the  power  and 
skill  of  all  created  comprehensions  to  take  the  just 
dimensions,  and  faithfully  give  in  the  height,  and 
depth,  and  length,  and  breadth  of  it ;  yet  we  may 
attempt  to  walk  about  this  heavenly  Jerusalem,  as 
the  Psalmist  speaks  of  the  earthly,  ''and  tell  the 
towers  thereof,  mark  her  walls,  consider  her  palaces, 
that  we  may  tell  it  to  the  generation  following." 

1.  Then,  we  will  consider  "  eternal  life"  in  the 
most  proper  notion  of  it,  as  it  implies  the  essential 
happiness  of  the  soul;  and  so  it  is  no  other  than  the 
soul's  pure,  perfect,  and  established  state.  By  a 
state,  1  do  designedly  undervalue  that  grosser  notion 
of  a  place,  as  that  which  scarcely  deserves  to  enter 
into  the  description  of  such  a  glory,  or,  at  best,  will 
obtain  but  a  very  low  room  there:  by  purity,  I  do 
purposely  explode  that  carnal  ease,  rest,  immunity, 
affluence  of  sensual  delights,  accommodated  only  to 
the  animal  life — which  last  Mahometans,  and  the  for- 
mer too  many  professed  Christians,  and  the  Jews 
almost  generally,  dream  of,  and  judge  heaven  to  be. 
By  perfection,  I  distinguish  it  from  the  best  state, 
which  the  best  men  upon  earth  can  possibly  be  in. 
So,  then,  I  take  "  eternal  life,"  in  the  primary  and 
most  proper  notion  of  it,  to  be  the  full,  perfect,  and 
everlasting  enjoyment  of  God,  communion  with  him, 
and  a  most  blissful  conformity  of  all  the  powers  and 
faculties  of  the  soul  to  that  eternal  goodness,  truth, 
and  love,  as  far  as  it  is,  or  may  become,  capable  of 
the  communications  of  the  Divinity.  This  life  v/as, 
at  the  highest  rate  imaginable,  purchased  by  our 
ever  blessed  Lord  and  Saviour  in  the  days  of  his 
flesh,  and  here,  in  the  text,  promised  to  every  believ- 


249 

inop  souL  Now,  in  as  much  as  we  are  iijnorant  both 
of  the  present  capacity  of  our  own  facuhies,  how 
large  they  are,  and  much  more  ignorant,  how  much 
more  large  and  ample  they  may  be  made,  on  purpose 
to  receive  the  more  rich  and  plentiful  communica- 
tions of  the  divine  life  and  image,  therefore  can  we 
not  comprehend  neither  the  transcendent  life,  hap- 
piness, and  glory,  nor  that  degree  of  sanctity  and 
blessedness  which  the  "believing  soul  may  be  ad- 
vanced to  in  another  world.  The  Popish  schoolmen 
do  nicely  dispute  about  the  sight  of  God,  and  the 
love  of  God,  to  wit,  in  whether  of  these  the  formal 
blessedness  of  the  soul  consisteth,  ill  separating  those 
whom  God  hath  so  firmly  joined  together;  as  if  it 
were  possible  that  either  a  blind  love,  or  a  jejune 
and  unafFectionate  speculation,  could  render  a  soul 
entirely  happy:  but  it  is  much  safer  to  say,  that  the 
^lappiness  and  eternal  life  of  tlie  soul  standeth  in  the 
possession  or  fruition  of  God  ;  and  this  doth  neces- 
sarily import  the  proper  perfection  of  every  faculty. 
Nothing  can  be  the  formal  happiness  of  a  spirit  that 
is  either  inferior  or  extrinsical  to  it;  it  must  be  some- 
thing divine,  and  that  wrought  into  the  very  nature 
and  temper  of  it.  I  hesitate  not  to  afSrra,  that  if 
the  soul  of  man  could  possibly  be  advanced,  so  as  to 
receive  adoration  or  divine  power,  yet,  if  it  were,  in 
the  mean  time,  void  of  divine  dispositions,  and  a  god- 
like nature;  it  would  be  far  from  being  glorified,  and 
made  happy  as  to  its  capacity.  What  health  is  to 
the  body,  that  is  holiness  to  the  soul;  which  haply 
the  Apostle  alludes  to,  when  he  speaks  of  the  spirit 
of  a  sound  mind,  2  Tim.  i.  7. 

2.  There  is  another  notion  of  "  eternal  life,"  which 

l3 


250 

some  contend  for,  by  which  they  mean  not  barely 
the  essential  happiness  of  the  soul,  but  that  with  the 
addition  of  many  suitable  and  glorious  circumstances, 
— the  essential  happiness  of  the  soul,  as  it  is  attended 
with  the  appendixes  of  a  glorified  body,  the  behold- 
ing of  Christ,  the  amicable  society  of  angels,  free- 
dom from  temptations,  the  knowledge  of  the  secrets 
of  nature  and  providence,  and  such  like :  to  which 
may  be  also  added,  though  of  a  lower  degree,  open 
absolution,  or  a  visible  deliverance  of  the  saints  out 
of  the  overthrow  of  the  wicked,  at  the  conflagration 
of  the  world,  power  over  devils,  eminence  of  place, 
enjoyment  of  friends,  and  such  like.  Now,  let  us 
briefly  consider  what  tendencies  there  are  in  the  re- 
ligious soul  towards  each  of  these.  And  here  I  must 
crave  leave  to  speak  jointly  both  of  the  end,  and  of 
the  motion  thereunto ;  though  it  may  be  thought 
that  the  former  only  falls  fairly  under  our  present 
consideration. 

(1.)  Then,  I  suppose,  that  "  eternal  life,"  in  the 
first  sense  of  it,  is  intended  here,  to  wit,  the  essential 
happiness  of  the  soul,  or  its  perfect  and  everlasting 
enjoyment  of  God.  For  the  description  is  here 
made  of  religion  itself  in  the  abstract,  or  that  prin- 
ciple of  divine  life,  which  Christ  Jesus  implanted  in 
the  soul;  and  being  so  considered,  it  is  hard  to  con- 
ceive how  that  should  spring  up  into  any  of  these 
appendant  circumstances,  or  into  any  thing  but  the 
completion  and  perfection  of  itself;  though  the  re- 
ligious soul,  taken  in  connection  with  them,  possibly 
may.  And,  indeed,  though  we  should  allow,  which 
we  shall  take  into  consideration  under  the  next 
head,  that  many  of  those  high  scriptural  phrases, 


251 

which  are  brought  to  describe  the  future  condition 
of  believing  souls,  do  principally  respect  the  appen- 
dixes of  its  essential  happiness,  (as  a  kingdom,  a 
house  not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens, 
an  inheritance  reserved,  a  place  prepared,  and  the 
like,)  yet  it  seems  very  unnatural  to  interpret  this 
phrase,  "  life,"  and  "  eternal  hfe,"  any  otherwise 
than  of  that  which  I  call  the  essential  happiness 
of  the  soul :  but  if  we  interpret  it  of  this,  the  sense 
is  very  fair  and  easy.  Thus,  this  principle  of  divine 
life  is  continually  endeavouring  to  grow  up  to  its 
just  altitude,  to  advance  itself  to  a  triumphant  state, 
even  as  all  other  principles  of  life  do  naturally  tend 
towards  a  final  accomplishment,  and  ultimate  perfec- 
tion. Carnal  self,  or  the  animal  life,  may  be  indeed 
said  to  be  a  well  of  water  too,  poisonous  water;  but 
that  springs  up  into  a  sensual  life,  popular  applause, 
self-accommodations,  or,  if  you  will,  in  the  Apostle's 
phrase,  into  the  fulfilment  of  the  lusts  of  the  flesh. 
This  I  speak  only  by  way  of  illustrative  opposition  ; 
fpr,  to  speak  more  properly,  this  corrupt  principle 
hath  in  it  the  central  force  of  death  and  hell,  and  is 
always  tumbling  downward;  whereas  this  divine 
principle  is  always  climbing  upward :  but  they  do 
both  agree  in  this,  that  they  both  seek  their  own 
gratifications,  and  study  to  acquire  their  respective 
perfections.  The  everlasting  and  most  glorious  en- 
joyment of  God  is  certainly  most  perfective  of  the 
soul;  and  therefore  is  most  properly  and  most  de- 
servingly  said  to  be  its  "  eternal  life,"  according  to 
that  of  our  Saviour,  John  xvii.  3.  Now,  this  "  eter- 
nal life"  is  not  a  thing  specifically  different  from  reli- 
gion, or  the  image  of  God,  or  the  divine  life,  but  in- 


Q52 

deed  the  greatest  height,  and  the  greatest  possible 
perfection  of  itself:  even  as  the  sun  at  noon-day  is 
not  a  light  really  distinct  from  what  it  was  in  the 
first  dawnings  of  the  morning,  but  a  different  de- 
gree, and  far  more  glorious  state ;  which  seeras  to 
be  tbe  very  similitude  whereby  the  Spirit  of  God 
illustrateth  the  matter  in  hand,  Prov.  iv.  18.  or,  as 
a  man  of  perfect  age  is  not  a  distinct  species  from  a 
child,  but  much  more  complete  and  excellent  in  that 
species:  to  which  the  Apostle  refers,  treating  of  this 
subject,  1  Cor.  siii.  11.  Man  hath  not  two  dis- 
tinct kinds  of  happiness  in  the  two  distinct  worlds, 
that  he  is  made  to  live  in;  but  one  and  the  same 
thinfj  is  his  blessedness  in  both,  which,  as  I  said  be- 
fore,  must  needs  be  the  enjoyment  of  God.  The 
translation  made  of  the  text  is  very  suitable  to  this 
notion :  for  this  divine  principle  is  said  to  spring  up, 
not  unto,  but  into,  everlasting  life,  q.  d.  it  springs 
up  till  it  be  swallowed  up  into  the  perfect  know- 
ledge, love,  and  enjoyment  of  God.  Even  as  youth 
is  swallowed  up  in  manhood,  so  this  grace  is  swal- 
lowed up  in  glory,  and  not  so  much  abolished,  as  in- 
deed perfected. 

By  this  phrase,  the  genius  of  true  religion,  and 
the  excellent  temper  of  the  truly  religious  soul,  is 
most  lively  described.  This  is  the  soul,  that,  be- 
injj  in  some  measure  delivered  from  its  unnatural 
bondage,  and  freed  from  its  unhappy  confinement, 
now  spreads  itself  in  God,  lifts  up  itself  to  him, 
stretches  itself  upon  him,  is  not  content  with  a  hea- 
ven merely  to  come,  but  brings  down  a  heaven  into 
itself,  by  carrying  up  itself  unto,  and  after,  the  God 
of  heaven.      God  is  become  great,  only  great  in  the 


Q53 

eye  of  such  a  Christian ;  he  is  indeed  become  all 
things  to  him.  Whilst  this  principle  is  rightly  and 
actually  predominant  in  him,  he  knows  no  interest 
but  to  thrive  and  grow  great  in  God  ;  no  will,  but 
to  serve  the  will,  and  comply  with  the  mind  of  God; 
no  end,  but  to  be  united  to  God ;  no  business,  but 
to  display  and  reflect  the  glory  and  perfections  of 
God  upon  the  earth.  The  main  business  of  his  life, 
I  say,  is  to  serve  him  ;  the  main  ambition  of  his  soul 
to  be  like  to  him  ;  and  his  main  happiness  in  this 
world  to  be  united  to  him ;  and  in  the  world  to  come 
to  be  swallowed  up  in  him :  in  this  world  to  .know, 
and  love,  and  rest,  and  delight  in,  and  enjoy  God 
more  than  all  things,  and  in  the  world  to  come  to 
enjoy  him  more  so.  The  gladsome  growings  up  of 
the  tender  flowers  to  the  friendiv  sun,  beincr  once 
powerfully  surprised  with  his  precious  and  benign 
influences,  and  the  cheerful  haste  with  which  the 
sympathetic  needle  so  amorously  pursues  the  en- 
chanting loadstone,  being  once  rightly  touched  and 
affected  with  it,  do  a  little,  though  but  a  little, 
resemble  and  represent  the  motions  of  a  spirit 
impregnated  with  this  divine  principle-,  and  strongly 
impressed  with  the  image  and  stamp  of  God :  he 
puts  in  his  hand  by  the  hole  of  the  door,  and  the 
bowels  of  the  espoused  soul  are  presently  moved, 
yea,  melted  for  him.  Canticles  v.  4.  He  casts 
the  skirt  of  his  garment,  the  mantle  of  his  love,  and 
presently  the  converted  soul  leaves  all  to  follow  him. 
Faith,  hope,  and  love,  are  knitting  and  springing 
graces,  and  this  eternal  life  is  the  end  and  perfec- 
tion of  them  all;  not  that  any  one  of  them,  I  con- 
ceive, shall  be  utterly  abolished,   as  some  conclude 


2545 

concerning  the  two  former,  though  without  good 
ground,  I  think,  from  the  Apostle's  words,  1  Cor. 
xiii.  J 3.  But  faith  will  be  ripened  into  the  most 
firm  and  undisturbed  confidence,  affiance,  and  ac- 
quiescence in  God  ;  hope  will  be  advanced  into  a 
more  cheerful,  powerful,  and  confident  expectation, 
having  for  its  object  the  perpetuation  of  the  soul's 
felicity;  and  love  will  become  much  more  loving, 
and  more  clearly  distinguishable  from  the  imperfect 
longings  and  languishings  of  this  present  state, 
when  it  shall  flower  up  into  pure  delights  and  com- 
placencies, resting  and  glorying  in  the  arms  of  its 
adequate,  satisfactory,  and  eternal  object.  The 
faith  of  the  hypocrite,  and  indeed  his  hope  too,  is 
still  springing  up  into  self-preservation,  deliverance, 
liberty,  a  splendid  and  pompous  state  of  the  church, 
(that  is,  of  his  own  party)  or  some  such  thing  as 
will  gratify  the  animal  life,  and  there  it  terminates; 
but  the  faith  of  the  sincere  and  religious  soul  springs 
up  into  eternal  life  ;  it  knows  no  term  but  *  the  sal- 
vation of  the  soul,'  1  Pet.  i.  9.  as  his  hope  knows 
no  accomplishment  but  a  state  of  God-like  purity 
and  perfection,  1  John  iii.  3.  The  mere  natural 
man  lives  within  himself,  within  a  circle  of  his  own, 
and  cannot  get  out;  whether  he  eat,  or  drink,  or 
pray,  or  be  zealous  for  the  popular  pulling  down  of 
the  political  Antichrist,  he  is  still  in  his  own  circle, 
he  is  still  sacrificing  in  all  this  to  that  great  helluo, 
the  animal  life,  as  I  have  already  made  evident:  but 
the  godly  soul  is  disinterested  of  self,  and  so  is  still 
contriving  the  advancement  of  a  nobler  life  within 
itself,  and  moving  towards  God,  as  his  supreme  and 
all-sufficient  good.    Give  him  all  that  the  whole  world 


255 

can  afford,  he  cannot  fix,  nor  settle,  nor  centre  hera: 
God  hath  put  into  him  a  holy  restless  appetite  after 
a  higher  good,  which  he  would  rather  be,  than  what 
he  is.  I  know  indeed  that  the  soul  that  is  thus 
divinely  free  may  be  hindered  in  its  flight  ;  but  it 
will  deliver  itself  from  the  clog  at  length.  You  may 
choke  and  dam  up  the  streamings  of  this  fountain, 
perhaps,  but  they  will  burst  out  again ;  you  may 
cast  ashes  upon  this  pure  fire  for  a  time,  but  it  will 
flame  out  again:  such  a  damp  cannot  arise,  no,  not 
from  hell  itself,  as  to  extinguish  it.  The  Philis- 
tines, I  remember,  stopped  the  wells  of  water  which 
Abraham  had  digged  in  Gerar,  "  and  filled  them 
with  earth,"  Gen.  xxvi.  15.  But  this  well  of  water, 
which  God  diggeth  in  the  holy  and  humble  soul, 
cannot  be  stopped,  neither  by  the  devil,  that  king  of 
Gerar,  that  is,  of  wanderings.  Job  i.  7.  nor  by  any 
of  his  servants,  but  it  will  find  vent  upward :  though 
you  endeavour  to  fill  it  with  earth,  which  indeed  is 
the  likeliest  to  choke  it,  though  you  cast  the  dust  and 
gravel  of  earthly  pleasures,  profits,  or  preferments 
into  it,  yet  it  is  a  well  of  living  water,  and  will  work 
its  passage  out.  The  hungerings  of  the  godly  soul 
are  not,  cannot  be  satisfied,  till  it  come  to  feed  upon 
the  hidden  manna,  nor  its  thirstings  quenched,  till 
it  come  to  be  swallowed  up  in  the  unbounded  ocean 
of  life  and  love. 

But  I  find  I  cannot  divide  "  springing  up"  from 
"  eternal  life,"  nor  pursue  the  term  of  religion,  but 
I  must  also  take  in  the  motion  of  the  religious  soul, 
whereby  he  pursues  it,  which  I  have  already  handled 
in  my  discourse ;  therefore  I  will  quit  this  head, 
and  take  a  short  view  of  the  second. 


256 

(2.)   The  secondary  and  more  improper  notion  of 
"  eternal  life,"  I  mentioned,  was  that  which  takes  in 
the  circumstances  or  appendixes  of  it.      And  here  we 
must  needs  allow,  that  the  Holy  Scriptures  do  openly 
avouch  some  of  these  circumstances,  as  those  espe- 
cially of  the  first  class  that  I   named,   of  some  of 
which  it  seems  to  make  great  account;  and  possibly 
the  Scripture  may  somewhere  or  other  imply  all  the 
rest,    even  those  of  the  inferior  rank.      Again,  we 
will   allow,   that   many  of  those  phrases  which   the 
Scripture  uses  to  describe  the  blessed  state  of  the 
other  world,   do  principally  respect  these  appendixes 
of  the  soul's  essential  happiness ;  such  perhaps  are 
the   "crown    of  righteousness"   mentioned  by  the 
Apostle   Paul.      "  The  prize  of  the   high  calling," 
mentioned  by  the  same  Apostle.    "  The  house  which 
is  from  heaven."    "  A  kingdom,  an  incorruptible  in- 
heritance, a  place  prepared,  mansions,  areward,  praise, 
and  honour,  and  glory   at  the  appearing  of   Jesus 
Christ,"   1  Pet.  1.  7.       And  that  "glory,  honour, 
and  peace,"  spoken  of  by  the  Apostle,  Rom.  ii.  10. 
These   are  all    Scripture  descriptions  of  the  other 
state,   and  I  suppose  we  may  grant  them  to  have  a 
peculiar  reference  to  this  secondary  essential  happi- 
ness of  the'soul :   though   I  know  not  any  necessity 
there  is  to  be  so  liberal  in  our  concessions;  for  it 
may  be  fairly  said  concerning  all,   or  most  of  them, 
that  the  design  of  these  phrases  is  not  so  much  to 
establish  this  less  proper  notion,   or  to  point  out  the 
circumstances  of  the  glorified  state,  as  to  insinuate 
how  much  more  ample  and  glorious  the  state  shall 
be  than  this  in  which  we  now  are;    as   a  prize  is 
looked  upon  as  somewhat  more  excellent  than  what 


257 

is  done  or  expended  to  acquire  it,  (it  must  needs  be 
so  esteemed  by  runners  or  wrestlers) ;  a  kingdom  is 
a  more  glorious  state  than  that  of  subjection,  and  aii 
inheritance  is  incomparably  more  ample  than  the  pen- 
sion that  is  allowed  the  heir  in  his  minority. 

But  these  things  being  conceded,  it  doth  not  ap- 
pear how  far,  or  under  what  notion,  the  religious 
soul,  as  such,  doth  spring  up  into  these  additional 
glories,  and  thirst  after  them.  I  know  there  are 
many  that  speak  very  highly  of  these  appendixes, 
and  allow  the  godly  soul  a  very  high  and  irrespec- 
tive valuation  of  them  ;  and  this  they  principally  in- 
fer from  the  examples  of  Christ  himself,  as  also  of 
Moses  and  Paul.  Give  me  leave,  therefore,  to 
suggest  something,  not  to  enervate,  but  to  moderate, 
the  argument  drawn  from  these  persons;  and  after 
that,  I  shall  briefly  lay  down  what  I  conceive  to  be 
most  scriptural  and  rational  in  this  matter. 

1.  As  for  the  example  of  Christ,  it  seems  to  make 
not  much  for  them  in  this  matter.  For  however  the 
text  is  very  plain,  that  "  for  the  joy  that  was  set  be- 
fore him,  he  endured  the  cross;"  and  this  joy  seems 
plainly  to  be  -his  session  "  at  the  right  hand  of 
God."  Yet,  if  by  this  joy  we  understand  a  more 
full  and  glorious  possession  of  God,  and  a  more  ex- 
cellent exaltation  of  his  human  nature,  to  a  more 
frea  fruition  of  the  divine,  then  it  cannot  be  applied 
to  any  thing  but  the  springing  up  of  the  gracious 
soul  into  its  essential  happiness;  which  I  have  al- 
ready contended  for,  as  being  the  proper  genius  of 
such  a  soul:  or  if  by  this  joy  and  throne  we  under- 
stand the  power  that  Christ  foresaw  he  should  be 
vested  with,  of  leading  captivity  captive,  trampling 


258 

under  feet  the  powers  of  hell  and  darkness,  and  pro- 
curing gifts  for  men,  which  seems  to  me  to  be  most 
likely,  then  it  belongs  not  at  all  to  men,  neither  can 
this  example  be  exhibited  for  imitation. 

As  for  the  instance  of  Moses,  who  is  said  to  have 
had  "  respect  to  the  recompense  of  the  reward.'^ 
It  is  not  yet  granted,  that  that  "  recompense  of  re- 
ward "  relates  principally  to  these  appendants  of  the 
soul's  essential  happiness,  neither  can  it,  I  suppose, 
be  evinced:  but,  though  I  should  also  allow  that, 
which  I  incline  to  do,  yet  all  that  can  be  inferred 
from  it,  is  but  a  respect  that  Moses  had,  as  our 
translation  well  renders  it,  or  some  account  which 
he  in  his  sufferings  made  of  this  recompense;  which 
was  a  very  warrantable  contemplation. 

The  Apostle  Paul,  indeed,  doth  openly  profess 
that  he  looked  for,  and  desired,  the  coming  of  Christ 
from  heaven,  upon  the  account  of  that  glorious 
body  which  he  would  then  clothe  him  with,  and  so 
he  might,  and  yet  not  desire  it  principally  and  pri- 
marily, but  secondarily,  and  with  reference. 

And  this  leads  me  to  the  general  answer  that  I 
was  preparing  to  give,  which  is  this.  Some  of  these 
circumstances  which  I  have  named,  especially  that 
of  the  glorified  body,  may  be  reduced  to  the  essen- 
tial happiness  of  the  soul,  or  included  in  it,  so  that 
the  soul  could  not  otherwise  be  perfectly  happy.  It 
is  the  opinion  of  all  divines,  I  think,  that  a  Chris- 
tian is  not  completely  happy,  till  he  consist  of  a  soul 
and  body  both  glorified.  And,  indeed,  considering 
the  dear  affection,  and  essential  aptitude,  that  God 
hath  planted  in  the  human  soul  for  a  body,  we  can- 
not   well    conceive    how    she    should    be    perfectly 


259 

happy  without  one :  and  this  earthly  body  is,  alas  ! 
an  unequal  yoke-fellow,  in  which  she  is  half  stifled, 
and  rather  buried,  than  conveniently  lodged ;  so 
that  it  seems  necessary,  even  to  her  essential  happi- 
ness, that  she  should  have  some  more  heavenly  and 
glorious  body,  wherein  she  may  coramodiously  and 
pleasantly  exert  her  innate  powers,  and  whereby  she 
may  express  herself  in  a  spiritual  and  nobler  manner, 
suitable  to  her  own  natural  dignity  and  vigour,  and 
to  her  infinitely  amiable,  and  most  beloved  object. 

Concerning  the  rest  of  the  circumstances  which 
cannot  be  thus  reduced,  I  conceive  that  such  of 
them  as  are  necessary  to  the  essential  happiness  of 
the  soul,  by  way  of  subserviency,  may  be  eyed,  and 
desired,  and  thirsted  after,  secondarily,  under  this 
motion  only,  as  they  are  subservient  to  that  essen- 
tial blessedness.  I  confess  I  do  not  understand 
under  what  other  notion  a  religious  soul  can  lift  up 
itself  to  them ;  I  mean,  not  so  far  forth  as  it  is  holy 
and  religious,  and  acts  suitably  to  that  divine  princi- 
ple which  the  Father  of  spirits,  or  rather  the  Father 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  hath  implanted  in  it. 
And  if  there  be  any  other  circumstance  which  cannot 
be  reduced  to  one  of  these  kinds,  I  suppose  it  may 
be  reckoned  amongst  the  objects  and  gratifications  of 
the  animal  life,  and  not  to  make  up  any  part  of  the 
godly  man's  heaven,  or  that  eternal  life  which  reli- 
gion springs  up  into  :  for  I  easily  imagine,  that  a 
fleshly  fancy  may  verily  be  mightily  ravished  with 
the  desire  of  such  a  heaven  as  is  suitable  to  it ;  and 
that  a  mere  animal  man  may  be  as  heartily  desirous 
to  be  in  such  a  kingdom  of  God,  as  he  hath  shaped 
out  to  himself,  as  he   is  utterly  unwilling  that  the 


260 

true  kingdom  of  God,  such  as  the  Apostle  describes, 
Rom.xiv.  17.  consisting  in  "  righteousness  and  peace, 
and  joy  in  the  Holy  Ghost,"  should  be  in  him.  If  our 
continual  cry  be  after  safety,  self-preservation,  liberty, 
redemption,  and  deliverance  from  those  things  only 
that  oppress  and  grieve  our  fleshly  interest,  and  our 
thirstings  principally  terminated  in  knowledge,  though 
it  be  of  God  himself,  freedom  from  condemnation, 
power  over  devils,  yea,  or  any  visible  pomp,  glory, 
or  splendour,  though  it  be  of  ever  so  ethereal  and 
heavenly  a  nature,  what  do  we  more  than  others? 
what  is  all  this  more  than  may  naturally  spring  up 
from  the  animal  life,  and  may  be  ultimately  resolved 
into  carnal  itself? 

Wherefore,  as  a  result  from  the  whole  discourse, 
especially  from  this  last  part  of  it,  let  me  earnestly 
entreat  of  all  the  professors  of  this  holy  religion, 
which  the  blessed  Messiah,  Christ  Jesus,  hath  so 
dearly  bought  for  the  world,  and  so  clearly  revealed 
in  it,  not  to  value  themselves  by  any  thing  which 
the  power  of  natural  self-love  may  exert  or  desire, 
perform  or  expect,  nor  by  any  thing  below  the  image 
of  God,  and  the  internal  and  transforming  manifes- 
tations of  Christ  Jesus  in  them  ;  the  perfection  of 
which  is  eternal  life,  in  the  most  proper  and  true 
notion  of  it.  I  know  that  I  have  often  suggested 
the  same  lesson  in  this  short  treatise,  but  I  know 
also,  that  I  can  never  inculcate  it  often  enough  ; 
nay,  the  eloquence  of  angels  is  not  sufficient  to  im- 
print it  upon  the  hearts  of  men.  Possibly  it  may 
startle  some  hypocritical  professors,  and  carnal  gos- 
pellers, (God  grant  it  may  effectually  !)  and  make 
the  ears   of  many  that  hear  it  to  tingle,  but  yet  I 


261 

will  proclaim  it,  "  It  is  possible  for  a  man  to  desire 
not  only  the  things  of  this  world,  which  St.  James 
speaks  of,  (James  iv.  3.)   but  even   heaven  itself,  to 
consume  it  upon  his  lusts ;  and  he  may  as  truly  be 
making  provision  for  the  flesh  to  fulfil  it  in  the  lust 
thereof,  in  longing  after  a  kind  of  self-salvation,  as  in 
eating,  and  drinking,  and  rising  up  to  play."      Cer- 
tainly a   true    Christian    spirit,   rightly   invigorated 
and  actuated  by  this   divine    and   potent   principle, 
Christian    religion,    cannot    look    upon    heaven    as 
merely  future,    or   as   something  perfectly   distinct 
from   him ;  but   he    eyes  it  as  life,  eternal  life,  the 
perfection  of  the  purest  and  divinest  life  communica- 
ble to  a  soul,  and  is  daily  thirsting  after  it,  or  rather, 
as  it  is  in  the  text,  "  growing  up  into  it."      I  know 
that  heaven  is  sometimes  called  a  rest,  in  opposition 
to  the   dissatisfaction   of  the  uncentred   and    unbe- 
lieving soul ;  but,  in  opposition  to  a  sluggish,  inert, 
and  dormant  rest,  it  is  here  said  to    be  life,   eternal 
life.      Let  us  show  ourselves  to  be  living  Christians, 
by   springing  up  into   the  utmost  consummation  of 
life :   let  it   appear  that   Christ  Jesus,  the  Prince  of 
life,  who  was  manifested  on  purpose  "  to  take  away 
our  sins,"  hath  not  only  covered  our  shame,  and,  as 
it   were,    embalmed   our  dead    souls,   to  keep   them 
from  putrefaction,  and  strewed  them  with  the  flowers 
of  his  merits,  to  take  away  their  noisome  smell  from 
the  nostrils  of  his  Father,  but  hath  truly  advanced, 
reinstated,  and  made  the  souls  flourish  that  sin  had 
so   miserably  degraded    and    deflowered.       Deliver 
yourselves,   O   immortal  souls  !    from  all  those  un- 
suitable and  unseemly  cares,  studies,  and  joys;  from 
all  those  low  and  particular  ends  and  lusts,  which  do 


262 

not  only  pinch  and  straiten,  but  even  debase  and 
degrade  you.  Let  it  not  be  said,  that  the  king  of 
Sodom  made  Abraham  rich  ;  that  your  main  dehght, 
happiness,  and  contentment,  is  derived  from  any 
prosperous,  plentiful,  peaceable,  pompous  state,  any 
thing  that  may  be  called  a  self-accommodation,  either 
in  the  world  that  now  is,  or  that  which  is  to  come  ; 
but  from  the  righteousness  of  faith,  and  your  vital 
union  with  the  Father  and  the  Son ;  to  whom,  in 
the  unity  of  the  Spirit,  be  honour  and  glory,  world 
without  end.      Amen. 


ON 


COMMUNION  WITH  GOD. 


ON 


COMMUNION   WITH   GOD. 


1  John  i.  3. 

"  Owjelloivshij)  is  tvith  the  Father,  and  tviih  his  Son 
Jesus  Christ." 

These  words  express  the  way  of  a  Christian's  living, 
and  that  kind  of  converse  whereby  a  good  man  is 
distinguished  from  all  other  men. 

A  good  man  is  not  differenced  from  other  men  by 
any  thing  without  him,  any  church  privileges  which 
are  common  to  hypocrites  and  sincere  Christians  ;  any 
external  visible  performances,  in  which  the  disciples 
of  the  Pharisees  maybe  more  abundant  and  more  spe- 
cious than  the  disciples  of  Christ,  much  less  by  any 
corporeal  or  temporal  enjoyment  or  ornament,  strength, 
beauty,  riches,  descent,  &c.  nor  by  any  carnal  rela- 
tion, though  it  were  to  Abraham,  as  the  Jews  boasted 
of  their  father  Abraham,  but  by  something  internal, 
substantial,  by  a  relation  to  God.  The  character  of  a 
good  man  must  be  drawn  from  his  correspondence  to 
the  chief  good,  and  the  happiness  of  a  soul  must  be 
judged  of  by  its  relation  to  life,  and  love,  and  blessed- 

M  38 


266 

ness  itself.  Things  external,  corporeal,  temporal, 
make  some  difference  amongst  men,  but  it  is  but 
nominal  and  titular  in  comparison :  by  these,  men 
are  said  to  be  rich  or  poor,  noble  or  ignoble;  but 
men  are  really  and  substantially  differenced  by  the 
relation  that  they  have  to  God  :  by  this  they  are' 
good  or  bad,  godly  or  wicked.  This  is  the  most 
certain  and  proper  note  of  a  good  man,  namely, 
communion  with  God  :  in  all  other  things  he  may 
be  like  other  men,  but  in  this  he  differs  from  and 
excels  them  all.  This  is  a  character  proper  or  pecu- 
liar to  them  ;  for  it  agrees  to  every  good  man,  to 
none  but  a  good  man,  and  always  to  him,  as  we  shall 
see  hereafter.  The  ground  of  my  discourse,  then, 
shall  be  this  short  and  plain  proposition,  namely, 
"  A  godly  man  hath  communion  with  God." 
In  order  to  the  more  distinct  handling  hereof,  I 
must  premise  a  few  things  briefly. 

1.  ''That  the  gracious  and  loving  God  made 
nothing  miserable  of  all  that  he  made."  There  are 
no  slaves  born  in  this  great  house  of  the  world.  He 
made  all  thiiigs  out  of  himself,  and  he  hath  no  idea 
of  evil  in  himself,  so  that  it  was  not  possible  that  he 
should  make  any  thing  evil  or  miserable.  Every 
thing  was  good.  Gen.  i.  and  so,  in  some  sense,  happy. 
He  was  free  to  make  the  world,  but  making  it,  he 
could  not  make  it  evil  or  miserable.  Every  thing  is 
the  product  of  Almighty  love  and  goodness. 

2.  "  The  happiness  of  every  creature  consists  in 
its  acting  agreeably  to  that  nature  that  God  gave  it, 
and  those  ends  which  he  propounded  to  it,  and  suit- 
ably to  those  laws  which  he  gave  them  ;"  which  laws 
were  contrived  with  the  greatest  suitableness  to  those 


267 

natures,  and  subserviency  to  those  ends.  Every 
creature  is  in  its  kind  happy,  whilst  it  acts  agreeably 
to  that  nature  which  the  wise  Creator  implanted  in 
it ;  as  the  sun  runs  its  race  without  ceasing,  and  re- 
joices so  to  do,  and  is,  in  some  sense,  happy  in  so 
doing.  Departing  from  that  nature  it  becomes  mi- 
serable, as  the  earth  bringing  forth  briers  and  thorns, 
instead  of  those  good  fruits  which  it  was  appointed 
to  bring  forth,  is  said  to  be  cursed.  Gen.  iii.  17,  18. 

3.  "  The  happiness  of  the  creature  is  higher  or 
lower,  greater  or  lesser,  according  as  it  comes  nearer 
to  God,  or  is  further  off  from  him,"  according  as  it 
receives  more  or  less  from  him, .  according  to  what 
communion  it  hath  with  him.  The  life  and  happi- 
ness of  the  sun  is  much  lower  than  that  of  a  man, 
because  it  cannot  enjoy  such  high  and  excellent 
communications  from,  or  communion  with  God,  as 
man  doth. 

4-.  "  There  can  be  no  communion  without  like- 
ness." The  sun  shines  upon  a  stone  wall,  as  well 
as  upon  man,  but  a  stone  wall  has  no  communion 
with  the  sun,  because  it  hath  no  eyes  to  see  the  light 
of  it  as  mart  hath,  nor  can  receive  the  benign  influ- 
ences of  its  heat  as  the  herbs  do.  A  log  of  wood 
lieth  in  the  water  as  well  as  the  fish,  but  it  hath  no 
communion  with  the  water,  nor  receives  any  advan- 
tage by  it  as  the  fish  doth.  God  is  present,  accord- 
ing to  his  infinite  essence,  with  the  devils,  as  with 
the  angels,  but  they  have  no  likeness  in  nature 
to  him,  and  so  no  communion  with  him,  as  these 
have. 

5.  "  God  hath  given  a  more  large  and  excellent 
capacity  to  man,  than  to  any  other  of  his  creatures 

M  2 


268 

upon  earth."  God  hath  endued  man  with  reason, 
and  so  made  him  capable  of  a  higher  life,  and  a  more 
excellent  communion  with  his  Maker  than  all  the 
rest.  Of  all  sublunary  creatures,  the  rational  soul 
only  is  capable  to  know,  love,  serve,  enjoy,  imitate 
God,  and  so  to  have  a  glorious  communion  with  him. 
The  sun,  in  all  its  glory  and  brightness,  is  not  so 
excellent  a  being  as  any  soul  of  man,  upon  this  ac- 
count. And  although  man,  by  his  fall,  lost  his 
actual  communion  with  God,  yet  he  is  a  reasonable 
creature  still:  he  hath  not  lost  his  capacity  of  re- 
ceiving influences  from  him,  and  enjoying  communion 
with  him.  The  world,  when  it  is  at  the  darkest,  is 
yet  capable  of  being  enlightened. 

6.  "  When  the  nature  of  man  is,  by  divine  grace, 
healed  of  its  distemperedness,  and  restored  to  its 
former  rectitude,  to  act  suitably  to  the  end  for  which 
it  was  made,  and  to  spend  itself  upon  its  proper  ob- 
ject, then  man  comes  to  have  a  right  communion 
with  God,  and  to  be  happy."  All  rational  souls  are 
capable  of  holding  communion  with  God,  but  all  do 
not  hold  communion  with  him  ;  but  they  that  ex- 
press the  purity  and  holiness  of  the  divine  life,  that 
know  God,  and  live  like  him,  these  are  his  children, 
Matt.  V.  15.  and  those  only  do  rightly  and  really 
converse  with  him.  When  the  Spirit  of  God  informs 
these  rational  souls,  and  communicates  the  strength 
of  a  divine  life  through  them,  and  stamps  the  lively 
impressions  of  divine  perfections  upon  them,  render- 
ing our  hearts,  wills,  and  ways,  conformable  to  that 
glorious  pattern,  that  infinite  good,  then  do  we  en- 
joy a  proper  communion  with  him,  and  are  truly 
blessed;  though  we  are  not  completely  blessed,  till 


S69 

this  conformity  be  perfected  according  to  what  those 
souls  are,  or  may  be  capable  of. 

This  is  the  true  and  proper  notion  of  man's  com- 
munion with  God,  and  relation  to  him,  which  we 
cannot  fully  describe,  till  we  more  fully  enjoy.  That 
soul  that  truly  lives  and  feeds  upon  God,  does  taste 
more  than  it  can  tell ;  and  yet  it  can  tell  this,  that 
this  is  the  most  high,  excellent,  noble,  glorious  life 
in  the  whole  world. 

This  communion,  as  also  the  intimateness  and 
closeness  of  it,  are  described  variously  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  by  the  similitude  of  members  being  in 
the  body.  Of  branches  being  in  the  vine.  By 
being  formed  according  to  God's  image,  changed 
into  his  image.  By  God's  dwelling  in  the  soul, 
and  the  soul  in  him.  By  Christ's  being  formed 
in  the  soul.  By  the  soul's  having  Christ.  By 
Christ's  supping  with  the  soul,  and  the  soul  with 
him.  Because  nothing  is  more  our  own,  nor  more 
one  with  us,  than  that  which  we  eat  and  drink,  be- 
ing incorporated  into  us  ;  therefore  is  this  spiritual 
communion  between  God  and  the  godly  soul,  oft- 
times  in  Scripture  described  by  our  eating  and 
drinking  with  him.  Thus  God  was  pleased  to  allow 
his  people  under  the  law,  when  they  had  offered  up  a 
part  of  their  beasts  in  sacrifice  to  him,  to  sit  down 
and  feast  upon  the  rest,  as  a  token  of  that  familiarity 
and  oneness  that  was  between  him  and  them.  By 
the  like  action,  our  Saviour  shadowed  out  the  same 
mystery,  when,  in  the  sacrament  of  his  Supper,  he 
appointed  them  to  sit  down  to  eat  and  drink  with 
him,  to  intimate  their  feeding  upon  him,  and  most 
close  communion  with  him :   yea,  the  state  of  glory. 


270 

which  is  the  most  perfect  communion  with  God.  is 
thus  shadowed  out  too,  Matt.  viii.  11.  Rev.  xix.  9. 
And,  which  is  worth  noting,  I  think  the  sacra- 
mental eating  and  drinking  hath  some  reference  to 
that  most  intimate  communion  of  the  saints  with  God 
in  glory.  Our  Saviour  himself  seems  to  imply  as 
much  in  that  speech  of  his,  Luke  xxii.  30.  "  That 
ye  may  eat  and  drink  at  my  table  in  my  kingdom  :" 
in  which  words  he  seems  plainly  to  allude  to  the  sa- 
cramental eating  and  drinking  which  he,  had  a  little 
before  instituted.  Which  makes  some  to  believe 
that  that  gesture  is  to  be  retained  in  that  ordinance, 
which  is  most  proper  and  usual  to  express  familiarity 
and  communion ;  and  to  take  away  that  gesture,  is 
to  destroy  one  great  end  of  our  Saviour,  in  appoint- 
ing this  Supper,  which  was  to  represent  that  familiar 
communion  which  is  between  himself  and  every  be- 
lieving soul.  I  will  not  here  examine  the  validity 
of  their  argument,  which,  possibly,  if  pressed  home, 
might  introduce  a  rudeness  into  the  worship  of  God, 
under  pretence  of  familiarity  :  but  it  seems  very  plain, 
that  the  nat'ure  of  that  ordinance  doth  shadow  out 
the  intimate  communion  between  God  and  a  godly 
soul. 

I  have  already,  in  part,  prevented  myself,  and 
showed  you  wherein  the  soul's  communion  with  God 
consists:  but  yet,  to  give  you  a  more  distinct  know- 
ledge of  this  great  mystery,  I  shall  unfold  it  in  these 
three  following  particulars. 

1.  "A  godly  soul  hath  communion  with  God  in 
his  attributes."  When  the  soul  of  man  is  moulded 
and  formed  into  a  resemblance  of  the  divine  nature, 
then  hath  it  a  true  fellowship  with  him.      Now,  this 


271 

communion  with  God  in  his  attributes  is  to  be  seen 
two  ways. 

Ist,   "  When  the  soul  is,  in  its  measure,,  according 
to  the  capacity  of  a  creature,  all  that  which  God  is." 
This  is  the  communion  which  the  angels  have  with 
God.     Their  beholding  the  face  of  God,  is  not  to  be 
understood  of  a  mere  speculation,   or  an  idle  gazing 
upon  a  deity;   but  they  see   him,  by  receiving  his 
image  upon  themselves,  and  reflecting  his  glory  and 
brightness  ;  they  partake  of  the  goodness,  purity, 
holiness,  wisdom,  righteousness  of  God,  which  makes 
them  such  glorious   spirits  ;    and   the   want   of  this 
makes  the  other,  whom  we  call  devils,  to  be   vvhat 
they  are.      Thus,  godly  men  shall  have  communion 
with    God,    they  shall    see    God.      Yea,   thus  they 
have  communion  with  him   in  some  measure  :  they 
do  not  only  see  God  in  the  world,  as  the  devils  do, 
nor  see  him  in  the  Word,  as  many  hypocritical  and 
wicked  men  do,  but  they  see  him  in  themselves,   in 
the  frame  of  their  own  souls,  they  find  themselves 
moulded  into  his  image,  and  a  resemblance  of  him 
drawn   upon   them.      This  is   a  beatifical  vision   of 
God,  true  and  real,   though  not  full  and   complete. 
This  is  set   out  in  Scripture,   by  being    "  holy,   as 
God  is  holy,"  "  perfect,   as  God  is  perfect."      This 
our  Saviour  exhorts  us  to  seek  after,  "  Take  my  yoke 
upon  you,  learn  of  me ;  for  I  am  meek  and  lowly  ;" 
and  the  Apostle,  "  Be  ye  followers  of  God,  as  dear 
children."       When   the  nature  and    perfections  of 
God,  his  holiness,  goodness,  righteousness,  wisdom, 
&c.  are  copied  out  upon  our  natures,  and  the  same 
spirit  is  in  us,  which  was  in  Christ  Jesus,  then  have 
we  a  true  communion  with  God,  which  blessed  com- 


272 

munlon,  when  the  soul  becomes  all  that  which  God 
is,  is  by  a  conformity  of  nature. 

2dly,  "  When  the  soul,  in  its  actions  as  a  creature, 
doth  rightly  answer  to  the  attributes  of  the  Creator." 
As  when  the  soul  doth  answer  the  goodness  of  God 
with  suitable  affections  of  love  and  joy,  and  delight ; 
when  the  soul  doth  correspond  to  the  sovereignty  and 
wisdom  of  God  by  the  acts  of  self-denial  and  resig- 
nation ;  doth  converse  with  the  righteousness  of  God 
by  patience  and  a  holy  acquiescence.  When  the 
soul  doth  rightly  exert  those  acts  which  are  proper 
and  suitable  to  the  nature  of  God,  then  it  may  be 
said  to  hold  communion  with  him  in  his  attributes  ; 
when  the  actions  and  motions  of  the  soul  do  corre- 
spond to  the  divine  nature  and  attributes.  Now, 
this  suitableness  of  the  soul,  I  mean  especially  with 
reference  to  the  incommunicable  attributes  of  God, 
where  there  is  no  place  for  imitation,  though  it  hold 
good  in  the  rest  also. 

2.  "  A  godly  soul  hath  communion  with  God 
in  his  word."  To  read,  profess,  or  hear  the  word, 
is  not  to  hold  a  real  communion  with  God  therein  : 
many  do  so  that  are  strangers  to  God  :  a  man  may 
read  my  letters,  and  yet  correspond  with  my  enemy. 
'I'hat  son,  in  the  gospel,  that  heard  his  father's  com- 
mand, and  answered,  "I  go,  Sir,"  but  went  not,  had 
no  right  communion  with  his  paternal  authority. 
But  when  the  soul  is  ennobled  into  such  a  frame  as 
this  word  doth  require,  then  it  holds  communion 
with  God  in  his  word;  for  example,  when  the  soul 
puts  forth  those  acts  of  humiliation,  holy  fear  and 
reverence,  godly  trembling,  which  do  suit  the  nature 
of  a  divine  threatening,  when  the  soul  answers  the 


273 

command  of  God  with  suitable  resolutions,  repent- 
ings,  reformations,  and  real  obedience,  when  it  enter- 
tains the  promise  with  suitable  acts  of  holy  delight, 
joy,  refreshment,  recumbency,  and  acquiesces  in  the 
same,  then  doth  it  truly  converse  with  God  in  his 
Word. 

3.  "  A  godly  soul  hath  communion  with  God  in 
his  works."  And  that  is,  when  the  soul  doth  an- 
swer the  several  providences  of  God  witjb  suitable 
and  pertinent  affections  and  dispositions.  The  godly 
soul  doth  not  only  eye  and  observe  the  hand  of  God 
in  all  things  that  fall  out,  but  doth  comply  with 
those  providences,  and  is  moulded  into  that  frame, 
and  put  upon  those  duties,  which  such  providences 
do  call  for.  Then  doth  the  soul  rightly  hold  com- 
munion with  God  in  his. works,  when  it  is  humbled 
under  humbling  providences,  is  refreshed,  strength- 
ened, and  grows  up  under  prosperous  providences,  as 
they  did,  Acts  ix.  31.  who  having  rest  given  them, 
were  edified,  comforted,  multiplied,  &c.  When  the 
soul  doth  rightly  comport  with  every  providence, 
and  the  will  is  moulded  into  the  will  of  God,  then 
do  we  hold  communion  with  him  in  his  works. 
This  theme  is  large,  because  the  works  of  God  are 
manifold,  of  creation,  redemption,  preservation,  works 
towards  other  men,  and  towards  ourselves,  both  to- 
wards our  outward  and  inward  man.  A  godly  soul 
hath  communion  with  God  in  all  these;  in  the  sense 
that  I  named  even  now,  though  perhaps  not  equally 
in  all,  yet  sincerely  and  truly. 

By  what  hath  been  said,  you  understand  that 
ricfht  fellowship  with  God  is  not  a  bare  communion 
of  names.     To  have  the  name  of  God  called  upon  us, 

M  3 


274i 

and  to  be  called  Christians,  or  the  people  of  God, 
or  to  nanae  the  name  of  God,  to  profess  it,   to  cry, 
Lord,  Lord,  doth  not  make  any  one  really  and  truly 
the  better  man,  doth  not  make  a  soul  rightly  happy. 
It  is  not  enough  to  cry,  "  The  temple  of  the  Lord, 
the  temple  of  the  Lord,"   with  those  in  Jer.  i.  4.  to 
make  our  "  boast  in  the  law,"  with  those  in  Rom. 
ii.  23.  to  call  ourselves  "  the  children  of  Abraham," 
as  the  Jews  did  in  John  the  Baptist's  time,  Matt.  iii. 
9.      These  privileges  and  professions  are  extrinsical 
to  the  soul,  and  do  nothing  to  the  true  ennobling 
of  it.      But  right  fellowship  with  God  is  a  commu- 
nion of  hearts  and  natures,  of  will  and  affections,  of 
interest  and   ends;   to  have  one  heart  and  will,  the 
same    interest   and   ends  with  God,  is   to   be   truly 
godly:    a   God-like  man  is  the  only  godly  man;  a 
Christ-like  nature  brought  into  the  soul,   doth  only 
denominate    a    man    a    true   Christian.      It    is   not 
speaking  together,  but  loving  and  living  together, 
that  brings  God  and   the  soul  into  one :    "  I  live, 
yet  not  1,    but  Christ    that   liveth  in    me."      And 
thus,   I  suppose,  you   have  a  fair  account  why  the 
Apostle  James,   chap.  ii.  does  so  much  prefer  works 
before  faith,  (for  indeed  faith  is  nothing  worth,*  save 
only  that  faith   which  joins  the  soul  to  the  object, 
and  makes  the  thing  believed  one's  own,)  as  also,  why 
the  Apostle  Paul  prefers  love  before  a  faith  of  mira- 
cles,   1  Cor.  xiii.  2.      Though,  indeed,  a  justifying 
faith  is  the  most  miraculous,  that  faith  which  unites 
the  soul  and  God  together  is  more  excellent,  and, 
indeed,  more  miraculous  than  the  faith  that  removes 
mountains.      When  I  consider  the  proper  happiness 
and  perfection  of  a  soul,  and  the  nature  of  this  true 


T}5 

blissful  communion  with  God,  I  cannot  but  wonder 
how  it  is  possible,  that  men  should  take  their  com- 
munion with  God  to  consist  in  an  overly  acquaint- 
ance with  him,  profession  of  him,  performances  to 
him.  lam  confident  it  is  not  possible,  that  men 
should  have  any  true  feeling  of  happiness  in  such 
acquaintance,  no  more  than  a  man  can  be  reallv  filled 
with  the  seeing  or  craving  of  meat  which  he  eats  not. 
Before  I  apply  the  doctrine,  give  me  leave  to 
lay  down  some  rules  or  positions,  tending  further  to 
explain  and  clear  it. 

1.  This  must  be  held,  which  I  touched  upon 
before,  that  "  there  can  be  no  communion  between 
God  and  man,  but  by  a  likeness  of  nature,  a  new, 
a  divine  principle  implanted  in  the  soul."  A  beast 
hath  no  communion  with  a  man,  because  reason,  the 
ground  of  such  communion,  is  wanting.  Of  all  the 
creatures,  there  was  none  found  that  could  be  a  meet 
help  for  Adam,  that  could  be  taken  into  the  human 
society,  till  Eve  was  made,  who  was  a  human  per- 
son. So,  neither  can  there  be  any  conjunction  of 
the  soul  with  God,  but  by  oneness  of  spirit,  "  He 
that  is  joined  to  the  Lord  is  one  spirit." 

^.  *'  There  can  be  no  communion  with  God  but 
by  a  Mediator,"  no  Mediator  but  Christ  Jesus,  who 
is  God-man.  "  Two  cannot  walk  together,"  nor 
hold  communion,  "  except  they  be  agreed;  and 
there  can  be  no  agreement  made  between  God  and 
man  but  by  Christ  Jesus.  Therefore  it  is  said, 
*'  Our  communion  is  with  the  Father  and  the  Son," 
with  the  Father  by  the  Son:  and  faith,  whereby 
the  soul  and  God  are  united,  is  still  said  to  be 
"  faith  in  Christ,"  as  we  find  in  the  Scriptures. 


276 

3.  "  There  can  be  no  perfect  communion  with 
God  in  this  life."  Our  communion  with  heaven, 
whilst  we  are  upon  earth,  is  imperfect ;  our  resem- 
blance to  God  is  scant  and  dark  in  comparison  of 
what  it  shall  be.  We  know  but  in  part,  love  but 
in  part,  enjoy  but  in  part ;  we  are  but  in  part  holy 
and  happy.  There  can  be  no  perfect  communion 
with  God,  till  there  be  a  perfect  reconciliation  of 
natures  as  well  as  persons  ;  and  that  cannot  be  whilst 
there  is  any  thing  unlike  to  God  in  the  soul, 
whilst  any  impure  thing  dwells  in  the  soul  which 
cannot  truly  close  with  God,  nor  God  with  that. 
The  Holy  Spirit  can  never  suffer  any  defiled  thing 
to  unite  itself  with  it:  "  It  is  not  lawful  for  any  im- 
pure thing  to  mix  itself  with  pure  divinity,"  saith  So- 
crates the  heathen.  "  What  communion  hath  right- 
eousness  with  unrighteousness?"  saith  the  Apostle; 
and  so  far  as  a  righteous  man  is  in  any  part  unright- 
eous, so  far  is  he  a  stranger  to  God.  The  unre- 
generate  part  of  a  regenerate  man  hath  no  more  com- 
munion with  God  than  a  wicked  man,  than  the  devil 
himself  hath  ;  no  more  than  darkness  hath  with  light. 

4.  "  Our  communion  with  God  must  be  distin- 
guished from  the  sense  and  feeling  of  it."  Many 
have  run  upon  sad  miscarriages,  (and  those  indeed 
extremes,)  whilst  they  place  communion  with  God 
in  the  sense  and  feeling  of  it,  in  raptures  of  joy,  ex- 
tacies  and  transports  of  soul ;  which,  indeed,  if  they 
be  real,  are  not  so  much  it,  as  the  flower  of  it,  some- 
thing resulting  and  separable  from  it.  Communion 
with  God  cannot  be  lost  in  a  saint,  for  then  he  is 
no  saint ;  for  it  is  the  proper  characteristic  of  a  saint 
to  have   communion   with   God;  and  a  saint  under 


277 

desertion,  hath  communion  with  God  even  then  as 
really,  though  not  so  feeUngly,  as  at  any  other  time, 
so  far  as  he  is  sanctified.  But  the  sense  of  this 
communion  may  be  very  much,  if  not  altogether 
lost,  and  oftentimes  is  lost. 

5.  *'  A  soul's  communion  with  God  cannot  be 
interrupted  by  any  local  mutations."  It  is  a  spiri- 
tual conjunction,  and  is  not  violated  by  any  confine- 
ment ;  the  walls  of  a  prison  cannot  separate  God 
and  the  godly  soul  ;  banishment  cannot  drive  a  soul 
from  God.  The  blessed  angels,  those  ministerino- 
spirits,  wjien  they  are  despatched  into  the  utmost 
ends  of  the  world  upon  the  service  of  God,  are  even 
then  beholding  the  face  of  God,  and  do  enjoy  as  in- 
timate communion  with  him  as  ever.  The  case  is 
the  same  with  all  godly  souls,  whose  communion 
with  God  does  not  depend  upon  any  local  situation  ; 
it  is  not  thousands  of  miles  that  can  beget  a  dis- 
tance between  God  and  the  soul.      Indeed  nothino^ 

o 

but  sin  does  it,  or  can  do  it.  "  Your  iniquities 
have  separated  between  you  and  your  God  ;"  no- 
thing but  sin  is  contrary  to  this  divine  fellowship, 
and  so  nothing  but  that  can  interrupt  this  spiritual 
society.  To  speak  properly,  sin  does  not  so  much 
cause  the  soul's  distance  from  God,  as  itself  is  that 
distance.  Man  and  wife  remain  one,  though  at  a 
hundred  miles'  distance;  and  believing  souls  do 
maintain  a  certain  spiritual  communion  one  with  an- 
other, though  in  several  parts  of  the  world.  The 
society  and  communion  of  godly  souls  one  with  an- 
other, so  far  as  it  is  spiritual,  cannot  be  interrupted 
by  bodily  distance;  much  less,  then,  the  fellowship 
of  God  with  the  godly  soul,  who  carries  about  with 


278 

him,  and  in  him,  a  divine  nature,  the  image  of  God, 
a  holy,  God-like  disposition  whithersoever  he  goes. 
6.    "  This  communion    with    God,   which  I  have 
been  speaking  of,  is  much  better  than   all  outward 
acts  and  enjoyments,  duties  and  ordinances  whatso- 
ever,  though  they    be   ever  so  many  or  specious." 
God  himself  long  since  decided  this  matter,    that  a 
broken   and   contrite  heart  is  better   than    all  sacri- 
fices, Psalm   li.  17.  that  "  to  obey  was  better  than 
sacrifice,"   1  Sam.  xv.  22.    that  *'  mercy  was  better 
than  sacrifice,"  Hosea  vi.  6.  that  "  to  do  justly,  to 
love  mercy,  and  to  walk  humbly  with  God,"  was  to 
be  preferred  before  "  thousands  of  rams,    and  ten 
thousands  of  rivers  of  oil,"   Micah  vi.  7,   8.       It 
holds,   in  reference   to    gospel  duties,   though   they 
may  seem  more   spiritual  than   the  oblations  of  the 
law.      A  real  soul-communion  with  God,  a  commu- 
nion of  hearts  and  natures,   of  wills  and  affections, 
of  interests   and   ends,   is   infinitely  more  excellent 
than    all   hearing,  praying,   celebration  of  sabbaths 
or  sacraments,  James  v.  25.  as  the  end  is  more  ex- 
cellent than  the  means:    for  so  stands   the  case  be- 
tween them. 

Yea,  I  will  add,  (though  some  proud  and  wanton 
spirits  have  made  strange  work  with  it,  yet)  it  is  a 
sure  and  most  excellent  doctrine,  that  this  spiritual 
communion  is  a  continual  sabbath,  (a  sabbath  of 
communion  is  much  better  than  a  sabbath  of  rest ;) 
this  is  the  sabbath  that  the  angels  and  saints  in 
heaven  keep,  though  they  know  no  such  thing  as  a 
first  day  in  the  week,  have  no  reading,  preaching, 
or  praying,  amongst  them.  This  is  a  continual 
praying,  and  effectual  way  of  praying  in  silence.      A 


279 

right  active  appropriating  faith,  does  virtually  con- 
tain a  prayer  in  it;  right  believing  is  powerful  pray- 
ing. The  knees,  eyes,  and  tongues,  bear  the  least 
share  in  prayer,  the  whole  of  the  work  lies  upon  the 
soul,  and  particularly  upon  faith  in  the  soul,  which 
is  indeed  the  life  and  soul  of  prayer.  Faith  can 
pray  without  words  ;  but  the  most  elegant  words, 
the  phrase  of  angels,  is  not  worthy  to  be  called 
prayer  without  faith.  I  speak  not  so  much  of  faith 
inditing  a  prayer,  or  giving  life  to  it,  as  of  its  being 
virtually  prayer,  if  not  something  more ;  for,  indeed, 
faith  is  a  real  bringing  down  of  that  God,  and  draw- 
ing in  of  those  influences  into  the  soul,  which 
prayer  only  looks  up  for. 

Communion  with  God  is  a  continual  fast;  it  is 
that  spiritual  and  most  excellent  way  of  fasting, 
whereby  the  soul,  emptying  itself  of  itself,  and  all 
self-fulness,  self-sufficiency,  self-confidence,  receives 
of  the  fulness  of  God  alone,  and  is  filled  therewith. 
A  soul  communing  rightly  with  God,  is  a  soul 
emptied  of,  and,  as  it  were,  fasting  from  itself; 
which  is  the  most  excellent  way  of  fasting. 

It  is  a  continual  thanksgiving;  and  indeed  the 
best  way  of  thanksgiving  in  the  world.  To  render 
up  ourselves  to  God  purely  and  entirely,  to  reflect 
the  glory  of  God  in  a  holy  and  God-like  temper, 
is  a  real  and  living  thank-offering.  This  is  that 
hallelujah,  so  much  spoken  of,  which  the  angels  and 
saints  in  glory  do  sing  perpetually:  what  other  ad- 
junct of  it  there  may  be,  I  will  not  here  dispute. 

This  communion  of  hearts  and  wills  is  a  constant 
and  most  excellent  celebration  of  sacraments.  The 
soul  that  is  really  baptized  into  the  Spirit  of  the 


280 

Lord  Jesus,  and  feeds  upon  God,  and  is  one  with 
him,  keeps  a  continual  sacrament;  without  which, 
the  sacramental  eating  and  drinking  is  but  a  jejune 
and  dry  devotion.  In  a  word,  it  is  not  possible  for 
any  thing  that  is  extrinsical  to  the  soul  to  make  it 
happy;  but  the  soul  that  is  advanced  into  the  noble 
state  of  communion  with  God,  is  made  partaker  of  a 
new  nature,  and  is  truly  happy. 

Nay,  further,  I  will  add,  that  this  communion 
witli  God  is  not  only  better  than  all  duties  and  or- 
dinances, but  even  better  than  all  revelations,  evi- 
dences, discoveries  that  can  be  made  or  given  to  the 
soul  from  without;  a  manifestation  of  God,  that  is, 
of  a  divine  life  in  the  soul,  is  much  better  than  such 
a  manifestation  as  Moses  had  of  his  glory  in  the 
cleft  of  the  rock,  Exod.  xxxiv.  Many  think,  O  if 
they  might  but  be  assured  of  the  love  of  God,  of  the 
pardon  of  sin,  of  an  interest  in  Christ,  they  should 
be  happy  !  why,  I  will  tell  you,  if  you  had  a  voice 
from  heaven,  saying  that  ye  were  the  beloved  chil- 
dren of  God,  as  Christ  had;  an  angel  sent  from 
God  to  tell  you  that  ye  were  beloved  and  highly 
favoured  of  God,  as  his  mother  Mary  had,  yet  were 
communion  with  God  to  be  pret'erred  before  these : 
for  these  things  could  not  make  a  soul  happy  with- 
out real  communion  with  God,  but  communion  with 
God  can  and  doth  make  a  soul  happy  without  these: 
and  to  this  purpose,  1  suppose,  I  may  apply  that 
famous  speech  of  our  Saviour's  by  way  of  allusion, 
"  It  is  more  blessed  to  give,  than  to  receive,"  to 
give  up  one's  self,  one's  heart,  will,  interests,  and 
affections,  to  God,  than  to  receive  any  external  dis- 
coveries and  manifestations  from  him.      Why  do  we 


281 

so  earnestly  seek  after  signs  from  without  us,  of 
God's  presence  with  us,  as  if  there  were  any  thing 
better  or  more  desirable  to  the  soul  than  Emmanuel, 
God  with  us,  or,  as  the  Apostle  speaks,  "  Christ  in 
us  the  hope  of  glory?"  He  that  desires  any  other 
evidence  of  grace,  but  more  grace,  does  not  only 
light  up  a  candle  to  see  the  sun  by,  but  indeed  he 
acts  like  one  that  thinks  there  is  something  better 
than  God  himself;  though  I  do  not  say  that  all  do 
think  so  who  are  covetous  of  such  manifestations. 
But  this  I  will  say,  and  you  may  do  well  to  meditate 
upon  it,  that  holy  longings  after  a  true  and  spiritual 
communion  with  God,  do  certainly  spring  from  a 
divine  principle  in  the  soul;  whereas  a  thirst  after 
assurance  of  God's  love,  and  reconciliation  of  our 
persons  with  him,  may  be  only  the  fruit  of  self-love 
and  interest. — "  Let  me  die  the  death  of  the  righ- 
teous!" you  know  whose  wish  it  was. 

7.  "  Though  communion  with  God  do  concern 
the  whole  soul,  and  all  the  faculties,  afiPections,  and 
motions  of  it,"  (it  is  God's  spreading  his  influences, 
and  exercising  his  sovereignty  over  all  the  powers  of 
the  soul,  and  their  mutual  spending  of  themselves 
upon  him,  and  conforming  to  him,)  "  yet  the  great 
acts  of  the  soul,  whereby  it  chiefly  holds  communion 
with  God,  are  loving  and  believing."  Love  is  the 
joining  and  knitting  of  the  soul  to  God;  faith  is  the 
soul's  labouring  after  more  intimate  conjunction  with 
him,  a  drawing  in  influences  from  him,  and  partici- 
pations of  him  into  the  soul.  We  may  say  that 
faith  fetches  in  supplies  from  heaven,  and  love  en- 
joys them  ;  faith  draws  in  sweetness  and  virtue  from 
Christ,   and  love  feeds  upon   it.      Certainly  these 


two  eminent  graces  grow,  live,  and  thrive  together, 
and  are  inseparable  companions.  It  is  somewhat 
difficult  to  distinguish  them,  or  to  assign  to  each  his 
proper  place  and  work  in  the  soul;  they  seem  mutu- 
ally to  act,  and  to  be  mutually  acted  by  each  other: 
perhaps  the  Apostle  might  have  respect  to  this 
mystery,  when  he  speaks  so  doubtfully,  Gal.  v.  6. 
"  Faith  which  worketh  by  love,"  which  words  may 
signify  either  '  faith  acting  by  love,'  or  '  faith  acted 
by  love.'  We  know,  indeed,  that  in  the  state  of 
perfect  communion,  which  we  call  glory,  love  shall 
abide  and  flourish  more  abundantly,  and  there  shall 
be  no  room  for  faith  there,  as  to  the  principal  act  of 
it;  but  which  of  them  hath  the  greater  part  in  main- 
taining our  communion  with  God  in  this  world,  is 
not  easy,  nor  indeed  needful  to  determine.  The 
godly  soul  is  the  most  proper  temple  wherein  God 
dwelleth,  according  to  that,  "  Ye  are  the  temple  of 
the  living  God:"  faith  and  love  are  the  Jachin  and 
Boaz,  the  two  great  pillars  which  keep  up  the  soul 
as  a  temple ;  take  away  these  and  it  remains  a  soul 
indeed,  but  the  soul  does  not  remain  a  temple  to  the 
Lord.  In  a  word,  these  two  are  the  soul's  principal 
handmaids  which  she  useth  about  this  blessed  guest; 
faith  goes  out  and  brings  him  in,  and  love  entertains 
him ;  by  faith  she  finds  him  whom  she  seeks,  and  by 
love  she  kisses  him  whom  she  finds,  as  the  spouse  is 
described.  Cant.  viii.  1. 

8.  "  The  communion  that  is  between  God  and 
the  godly  soul  is  altogether  different  from  that  com- 
munion that  is  between  creatures."  Here  I  might 
show  you  how  it  exceeds  and  excels  that,  in  many 
respects :   but  I   shall  not  insist  upon  any  of  those 


283 

particulars,  nor  indeed  upon  any  of  those  many  differ- 
ences that  are  between  them,  save  only  upon  this 
one:  the  communion  that  is  between  creature  and 
creature  is  perfect  in  its  kind,  and  so,  consequently? 
gives  mutual  satisfaction;  I  mean,  it  terminates  the 
expectations,  so  that  nothing  remains  to  be  enjoyed 
in  them  more  than  what  is  enjoyed.  The  creature 
is  shallow,  and  soon  is  fathomed,  we  soon  come  to 
the  bottom  of  it :  a  finite  can  grasp  a  finite  being, 
and  enjoy  it,  as  I  may  say,  all  at  once.  A  man 
may  come  so  near  to  his  friend,  that  he  can  come  no 
nearer,  enjoy  him  as  fully  as  he  is  capable  to  enjoy, 
or  the  other  to  be  enjoyed :  created  sweetness  may 
be  exhausted  to  the  very  bottom.  But  the  soul's 
communion  with  God  does  not  give  it  any  such 
satisfaction,  though  indeed,  in  some  sense,  it  gives 
a  satisfaction  of  a  much  higher  and  more  excellent 
kind.  I  told  you  before,  that  the  soul's  communion 
with  God  is  imperfect  in  this  life;  and  therefore  it 
must  needs  follow,  that  it  cannot  satisfy;  that  is, 
not  terminate  and  fill  up  the  desires  of  it.  Com- 
munion with  God  is  maintained  by  faith  and  love, 
which  proves  it  to  be  very  sweet;  but  it  also  admits 
of  hope,  which  proves  it  to  be  not  satisfactory;  for 
where  there  is  yet  any  place  left  for  hope,  there  is 
no  full  or  satisfactory  enjoyment.  This  may  serve 
as  a  certain  note,  whereby  to  judge  of  the  truth  of 
that  communion  with  God;  it  is  not  glutting  to  the 
soul,  but  will  certainly  manifest  itself  in  incessant 
hungering,  poor  in  the  midst  of  riches;  the  soul  is 
in  the  midst  of  plenty,  and  yet  cries  out,  as  if  it 
were  ready  to  starve  for  want.  When  I  consider 
the  temper  of  some  perfectionists,   who  cry  down 


284 

duties  and  ordinances,   as  low  and  unprofitable  rudi- 
ments, and  boast  of  their  full  and  inaccessionable  at- 
tainments,  and   compare  it  with  the  temper  of  the 
great  Apostle,    who  did  not  reckon  that  he  had  at- 
tained, but  still  followed  after  that  he  might  appre- 
hend, who  forgot  the  things  that  were  behind,  and 
reached   forth   unto  those  things  that  were  before, 
pressing  towards  the  mark,  &c.   I  am  ready  to  cry 
out,  either  this  man  is  not  an  Apostle,  or  these  men 
are  not  Apostles;   but  an  Apostle  he  was,  and  had 
very  intimate  communion  with  his  Lord;  and  there- 
fore, I  confess,  I  cannot  allow  these  men  §o  high  a 
place,  in  my  opinion,   as  they  have  in  their  own. 
God  is  infinite;   and,  therefore,  though  the  soul  be 
ever  grasping,  yet  it  can  never  comprehend;  and  yet 
the  soul  finds  him  to  be  infinitely  good,  and  so  can- 
not cease  grasping  at  him  neither.      The  godly  soul 
sees  that  there  is  yet  much  more  to  be  enjoyed  of 
God,  and  in  him;   and,  therefore,  though  it  be  very 
near  to  him,  yet  cries  out,  and  complains  of  its  dis- 
tance from  him; — '  Oh  when  shall  I  come  and  appear 
before  him !'  though  it  be  united  to  him,  yet  it  longs 
to  be  yet  more  one  with  him  still,  to  be  in  a  closer 
conjunction.      The  godly  soul  forgets,   with  Paul, 
what  it  hath  received,  not  through  disingenuity  and 
unthankfulness,  but  through  a  holy  ardour  and  cove- 
tousness:   all  that  he  hath  of  God  seems  little,  be- 
cause there  is  yet  so  much  to  be  had.     Though  the 
godly  soul  do  drink  of  the  fountain,  yet  that  is  not 
enough,  it  would  lie  down  by  it;   though  it  do  lie 
down  by  it,  yet  it  is  not  satisfied  neither,   except  it 
may  bathe  itself,   and  even  be  swallowed  up  therein. 
Behold  a  paradox!    the  godly  soul  is  most  thirsty, 


QS5 

# 

though,  according  to  Christ's  promise,  it  thirst  no 
more:  it  is  most  restless,  though,  according  to  his 
promise,  it  have  rest.  It  is  proper  to  God  alone  to 
rest  in  his  love,  for  the  creature  cannot  in  this  im- 
perfect state:  by  this  we  know  that  we  are  not  yet 
in  heaven;  for  it  is  a  state  of  perfect  rest,  not  sloth, 
or  cessation,  but  satisfaction.  Faith  is  the  fever  of 
the  soul,  rendering  it  more  thirsty  by  how  much  the 
more  it  drinks  in  of  the  water  of  life,  the  living 
streams  that  flow  forth  from  the  throne  of  God  and 
of  the  Lamb.  As  the  waters  of  the  sanctuary  are 
described  by  the  prophet,  growing  deeper  and  deeper, 
Ezek.  xlvii.  so  hope,  which  is  the  soul's  appetite, 
grows  larger  and  larger,  and  cannot  be  satisfied  till 
the  soul's  capacity  be  filled  up. 

The  doctrinal  part  being  thus  briefly  despatched, 
it  will  be  easy  to  infer  some  things  by  way  of  corol- 
lary. I  shall  content  myself  with  three  only  amongst 
many. 

1.  "  All  wicked  men  are  strangers  to  God." 
We  know,  indeed,  that  God,  according  to  his  infi- 
nite essence,  is  present  with  all  his  creatures ;  not  only 
men,  but  even  devils  too,  have  their  being  in  him  : 
he  hath  spread  his  omnipotence,  as  the  foundation 
whereupon  the  whole  creation  doth  stand;  he  reared 
up  the  world  in  himself,  and  in  him  it  doth  subsist 
at  this  day.  However  angels  and  men  have  sadly 
fallen  from  God,  yet  they  may  be  truly  said  to  live 
in  him  still ;  and  although  all  wicked  souls  do 
straggle  off  from  God,  as  to  their  dispositions  and 
affections,  ingrafting  themselves  into  another  stock 
by  sin  and  wickedness,  yet  they  cannot  possibly 
straggle  from  him  as   to  their  subsistence,  as  the 


Q86 

Apostle  teaches  the  Athenian  philosophers,  "  He 
is  not  far  from  every  one  of  us,"  though  few  feel 
after  him  or  find  him.  And  it  may  be  truly  said, 
in  some  sense,  that  all  the  creatures,  yea,  the  very 
worst  of  them,  have  a  communion  with  God;  all 
partake  of  him;  no  creature  hath  any  thing  of  its 
own  really  distinct  from  him.  Every  thing  that 
hath  a  being,  hath  a  relation  to  that  infinite  and  su- 
preme being;  and  every  living  thing  may  be  rightly 
said  to  have  communion  with  him  who  is  life  itself. 
And  all  those  several  excellencies  that  are  in  the 
creatures,  flow  out  from  God,  who  hath  impressed 
various  prints  of  his  own  beauty  and  perfection  upon 
every  thing  that  he  hath  made.  God's  making  of 
a  thing  is  no  other  than  the  communicating  of  him- 
self thereunto.  And,  therefore,  when  you  look  into 
the  world,  do  not  view  any  creature  in  the  narrow 
point  of  its  own  being,  but  in  the  unbounded  essence 
of  God,  and  therein  love  and  admire  it.  But,  upon 
the  immortal  soul  of  man,  God  hath  copied  out  his 
divine  perfections  more  clearly  and  gloriously,  than 
upon  any  other  creature  in  this  world.  God  could 
not  make  a  rational  soul,  without  communicating  of 
his  own  infinite  wisdom,  power,  life,  freedom  to  it ; 
so  that  there  is  more  of  the  divine  nature  to  be  seen 
in  the  understanding  and  will  of  any  one  man,  than 
in  the  whole  fabric  of  heaven  and  earth. 

Notwithstanding  this,  wicked  men  are  strangers 
to  God.  They  live  and  move  in  God  indeed,  but 
they  know  it  not,  they  consider  it  not;  they  act  as 
if  they  had  no  dependence  upon  him,  no  relation  to 
him.  Though  they  have  some  kind  of  communion 
with  God,  as  creatures,  yet  this  makes  them  not  at 


287 

all  happy :  for  they  are  departed  from  God  in  their 
affections  and  dispositions  ;  they   have   degenerated 
from    that    subserviency   and   subordination   to    the 
divine  will,    which  is   the  proper   perfection   of  the 
creature,  and  are  "  alienated  from  the  life  of  God," 
as  the  Apostle  speaks.      It  is  not  the  soul's  moving 
in  God,  that  makes  it  truly  and  happily  nigh  unto 
him,  but  its  moving  towards  God,  as  the  chief  ob- 
ject, and  according  to  the  will  of  God,  as  the  chiefest 
rule;   and    therefore   wicked   men,   who  pitch  upon 
other  objects,  and  walk  by  other  laws,  even  the  lusts 
and    ordinances   of  their  own  flesh    and  fancy,  are 
properly  strangers  to  God,  and  miserable.      He  is 
not  properly  said  to  know  God,   who  hath  a  notion 
of  him  formed  in  his  head,  but  he  whose  heart  and 
will  is  moulded  into  a  conformity  to  God,  and  a  de- 
light  in    him ;    so  that   a  wicked   man,   though   he 
know,  and  believe,  and  tremble,   as  much  as  any  of 
the  devils,  yet  not  loving  nor  delighting  in  God,  as 
his  chiefest  good,  not  being  conformed  to  his  image, 
as  the  highest  and  purest  perfection,  may  be  truly 
said  to  be  estranged  from   him;   which  is  a  state  of 
hell,   and  death,   and  darkness.      This  is  the  man, 
who,  though  not  in  words,  yet,  interpretatively,  and 
really,  saith  unto  God,   "  Depart  from  me,   I  desire 
not   the    knowledge   of   thy    ways,"   with   them    in 
Job  xxi.  14.      These  do  really  exempt  themselves 
from  the  dominion  of  Christ,  and  do  really,  though 
not  audibly,  say  with  them  in  the   gospel,   "  We 
will  not  have  this  man  to  reign  over  us."     However 
men  pretend,   and  boast  of  their  relation  to,  and  ac- 
quaintance with  God,   certainly  all  that  live  a  mere 
sensual  life,  nonconformists  to  the  image  of  God, 


288 

are  truly  said  to  be  strangers  to  him,  and  in  a  state 
of  non-communion  with  him,  1  John  i.  6.  2  Cor. 
vi.  14. 

2.  "  The  life  of  a  true  Christian  is  the  most  high 
and  noble  life  in  the  world ;"  it  exceeds  the  life  of 
all  other  men,  even  of  the  greatest  men.  The 
character  that  is  here  given  of  the  godly  man  is  the 
highest  that  can  be  given  of  any  man,  or  indeed  of 
any  creature.  It  is  the  highest  glory  and  excel- 
lency of  the  creature,  to  partake  of  the  life  of  God, 
of  the  perfections  of  the  Creator;  and  such  is  the 
description  that  the  Spirit  of  God  here  makes  of  the 
godly  man.  What  an  unreasonable  and  senseless 
reproach  is  that  which  this  wicked  world  doth  cast 
upon  religion,  calling  it  a  low  and  despicable  thing; 
and  upon  religious  and  godly  men,  calling  them 
low-spirited,  puny  people.  Can  a  man  be  better 
spirited,  than  with  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  Can  any 
thing  more  truly  ennoble  a  soul  than  a  divine  na- 
ture? Can  a  man  be  raised  any  higher  than  unto 
heaven  itself?  So  noble  is  the  godly  soul.  "  The 
way  of  life  is  above  to  the  wise;"  and,  consequently, 
all  wicked  men  lead  a  low  life,  and  are  bound  under 
chains  of  death  and  darkness :  the  righteous  man  is 
of  a  high  and  divine  original,  born  of  God,  born 
from  above ;  and  therefore  is  more  excellent  than  his 
neighbour,  than  any  of  his  neighbours,  even  a  king 
himself  being  judge,  Prov.  xii.  26.  What  a  hellish 
baseness  is  that  sinful  gallantry  of  spirit,  what  a 
brutishness  is  that  sensuality  of  living,  which  the 
degenerate  sons  of  Adam  do  so  much  magnify  ! 
True  goodness  and  excellency  of  spirit  must  be 
measured   by  the   proportion   that  it   bears  to   the 


289 

supreme  good,  the  infinite  pattern  of  all  perfection. 
What  excellent  persons  were  those  renowned  saints 
of  old,  of  whom  the  Apostle  says,  that  "  the  world 
was  not  worthy,"  however  they  were  thoui^ht  not 
worthy  to  live  in  the  world.  What  a  noble  and 
generous  spirit  of  true  Christian  valour,  patience, 
meekness,  contempt  of"  the  world,  and  self-denial, 
was  that,  which  was  to  be  seen  in  the  blessed 
apostles,  however  they  were  esteemed  as  the  filth 
and  sweepings  of  the  world,  the  "  offscouring  of  all 
things?"  To  which  of  the  noble,  wise,  mighty  men 
of  the  world,  as  such,  did  God  ever  say.  These  are 
the  men  that  have  fellowship  with  me,  these  are  the 
men  that  lead  a  noble  and  divine  life?"  No,  no, 
"  not  many  noble  are  called;"  and  when  they  are 
called,  they  are  made  more  noble  than  ever  they 
were  by  birth  or  descent,  by  places  of  preferment  or 
command.  The  life  of  every  wicked  man,  of  what 
rank  soever  he  be  in  the  world,  is  but  a  low  life,  a 
life  in  most  things  common  to  the  very  beasts  with 
him;  if  the  main  of  his  business  and  delight  be  to 
eat,  and  drink,  and  work,  and  sleep,  and  enjoy  sen- 
sual pleasures,  what  doth  he  ?  what  enjoyeth  he 
more  than  the  beasts  that  perish?  But  the  life  of 
the  meanest  soul,  that  hath  true  and  spiritual  com- 
munion with  God,  is  a  life  common  to  him  with  the 
blessed  angels,  those  sons  of  the  morning,  the  flower 
of  the  whole  creation.  That  life  which  hath  self 
for  its  centre,  must  needs  be  a  penurious,  and  indeed 
a  painful  life :  for  how  can  the  soul  of  man  possibly 
feed  to  the  full  upon  such  spare  diet,  such  scant 
fare  as  it  finds  at  home?  Nay,  indeed,  how  can  it 
choose  but  be  in  pain  and  torture,  whilst  it  stretch- 

N  38 


290 

eth  itself  upon  self-sufficiency,  or  creature-fulness, 
which  is  not  at  all  commensurate  to  it?  But  the 
soul  that  rightly  stretches  and  spends  all  its  facul- 
ties upon  the  infinite  and  blessed  God,  finds  all  its 
capacities  filled  up  to  the  brim  with  that  fountain  of 
goodness,  and  itself  perfectly  matched  with  a  suit- 
able and  satisfactory  object.  This  is  the  true  and 
only  nobleness  of  spirit,  when  all  the  powers  and 
faculties  of  this  immortal  soul  are  exalted  and  ad- 
vanced into  a  true  and  vital  sympathy  and  com- 
munion with  the  chiefest  good,  formed  according  to 
his  will,  conformed  to  his  image. 

And  O  that  wisdom  might  be  more  "  justified  of 
her  children  !"  O  that  the  life  of  God  did  but 
clearly  manifest  itself,  and  shine  forth  in  the  lives  of 
those  that  call  themselves  godly  !  Alas,  that  ever 
God  himself  should  suffer  reproach,  by  reason  of  the 
low-spiritedness  and  laziness  of  his  servants  !  For 
this  cause  is  religion  evil  spoken  of.  The  Lord 
awake  and  enable  us  to  express  and  show  forth  the 
divine  life  with  all  power  and  vigour,  to  live  as  high 
as  the  calling  wherewith  we  are  called,  and  so  roll 
away  this  reproach  ! 

3.  "  The  life  of  a  Christian  is  not  a  heavy 
sluggish  thing,  but  active  and  vigorous,"  as  the 
phrase  *  communion  with  God,'  imports.  Religion  is 
a  communication  of  life  and  vigour  from  Him,  who 
is  life  itself;  which  makes  the  truly  God-like  soul 
to  be  quick  and  powerful  in  its  motions.  Every 
thing  is  by  so  much  the  swifter  and  stronger  in  its 
motions,  by  how  much  the  nearer  it  is  to  its  centre, 
as  philosophy  tells  us.  Certainly  by  how  much  the 
nearer  any  man  is  gotten  to  God,  who  is  the  centre 


of  souls,  by  so  much  the  more  does  he  covet  after 
more  intimate  communion  with  him,  and  the  more 
eagerly  lay  hold  upon  him.  Communion  does  ne- 
cessarily imply  re-action  or  reflection :  the  soul  that 
receives  of  God,  and  his  fulness,  will  certainly  be 
emptying  itself  into  him  again.  Communion,  in 
the  very  force  of  the  phrase,  implies  a  mutualness  ; 
we  cannot  suppose  a  soul  partaking  of  God,  but  it 
must  needs  mutually  render  up  itself  to  him  again. 
There  can  be  no  commerce  nor  correspondence  with- 
out returns :  but  what  return  can  the  godly  soul 
make  unto  God?  Why,  it  renders  up  its  whole 
self  to  him.  Faith  is  a  giving  grace  as  well  as  a 
receiving,  it  gives  the  soul  back  to  Christ,  as  well 
as  takes  Christ  into  the  soul ;  it  draws  in  strength 
and  grace  from  God,  and  reciprocally  spends  the 
whole  powers  of  the  soul  upon  him.  The  happiness 
of  a  godly  soul  doth  not  consist  in  cessation  and 
rest;  the  soul  itself  being  a  powerful  and  active 
being,  the  happiness  of  it,  the  very  rest  of  it,  must 
also  be  active  and  vigorous.  Where  there  is  com- 
munion, there  must  needs  be  quick  and  lively  re- 
turns, reciprocations,  reflections,  and  corresponden- 
cies ;  the  drawings  of  God  are  answered  with  the 
soul's  running.  The  motion  of  Christ's  fingers 
begets  a  motion  in  the  Christian's  soul:  "  My 
Beloved  put  in  his  hand  by  the  hole  of  the  door, 
and  my  bowels  were  moved  for  him."  These  are 
the  divine  and  harmonious  responses  which  are  made 
and  maintained  in  the  godly  soul,  the  temple  of  the 
living  God.  O  shake  off  that  lazy  and  drowsy 
spirit,  which  hath  so  benumbed  many  in  this  cold 
and  stupid  age  of  the  world ;  work  out  your  salva- 

N  2 


292 

tioii  with  care  and  diligence.  If  your  religion  be 
nothing  but  a  spiritual  kind  of  sleep,  your  heaven 
will  prove  to  be  nothing  but  a  pleasant  kind  of 
dream. 

Communion  with  God  speaks  something  divine, 
active,  vigorous.  The  life  of  a  Christian  doth  not 
consist  only  in  cessation  from  evil,  reformation  from 
sin,  or  dying  thereunto ;  mortification  is  but  one  part 
'of  regeneration.  It  is  the  conceit,  and,  I  doubt, 
the  deceit,  of  many  nominal  Christians,  that  if  they 
can  but  keep  up  an  indifferent  even  spirit  and  con- 
versation, free  from  gross  and  scandalous  sins,  from 
day  to  day,  they  are  happy  enough  :  their  utmost 
ambition  is  to  be  innocent  and  harmless.  This, 
indeed,  is  necessary  and  praise-worthy;  but  surely 
the  happiness  of  a  soul  lies  higher:  thus  happy  are 
all  the  creatures  that  keep  in  the  station,  and  keep 
up  the  order,  prescribed  them  of  God:  thus  happy 
is  the  sun  in  the  firmament,  running  his  race  con- 
tinually, and  never  departing  from  the  office  which 
is  assigned  to  it.  But  the  soul  of  man  is  capable 
of  a  higher  kind  of  happiness,  namely,  communion 
with  God ;  which  is,  when  the  faculties  thereof 
being  awakened,  refined,  and  acted  by  the  Spirit  of 
God,  do  reciprocally  act,  and  spend  themselves  upon 
him,  longing  to  be  perfectly  swallowed  up  in  him, 
and  to  be  all  that  which  God  himself  is,  as  far  as 
the  creature  is  capable  to  drink  in  the  perfections  of 
the  Creator,  and  become  one  with  his  Maker.  This 
is  that  truly  noble  and  divine  life,  which  is  here 
called  communion  with  God,  which  the  high-spirited 
and  generous  soul  labours  yet  more  and  more  to  be 
growing  up   into,  and   perfected  in.      Keep  your- 


S93 

selves,  with  David,  from  your  iniquities;  it  is  some- 
thing to  be  freed  from  the  guilt  and  power  of  sin, 
but  there  is  somewhat  higher  than  this,  a  more  ex- 
cellent attainment,  a  more  divine  accomplishment : 
go  on,  therefore,  with  the  same  David,  and  aspire 
after  this  pure  and  blissful  state,  this  heaven  upon 
earth,  waiting  for  the  more  ample  and  glorious 
manifestations  of  God  to  you,  and  in  you,  more 
than  they  that  watch  for  the  morning,  as  he  did. 
This  inference  was  only  of  instruction,  but  the 
sweetness  and  needfulness  of  the  subject  almost  pre- 
vails with  me  to  turn  it  into  an  earnest  exhortation, 
but  that  I  would  not  prevent'  myself.  Therefore, 
I  proceed  to  the  next  way  of  improving  this  doc- 
trine, which  shall  be  by  way  of  conviction  or  repre- 
hension. 

1.  Our  fellowship  is — it  reproves  them  that  can 
take  up  with  a  shall  be — a  heaven  to  come.  I  am 
now  speaking,  not  to  the  worst  of  men,  whose  very 
souls  are  swallowed  up  in  sensual  enjoyments,  and 
imprisoned  in  their  senses ;  for  these  men  either 
think  of  no  heaven  at  all,  or  else  they  place  their 
heaven  and  happiness  in  the  enjoyment  of  them- 
selves, or  of  the  creature.  Nor  yet  do  I  speak  to 
those  men  who,  being  persuaded  of  a  future  state, 
do  indeed  wish  for  a  heaven  to  come;  but  then  it  is 
a  poor  kind  of  low  and  earthly  heaven,  consisting  in 
ease,  rest,  safety,  freedom  from  troubles  or  torments, 
which  is  the  best  happiness  which  most  men  under- 
stand, the  highest  heaven  that  any  carnal  mind  can 
see  or  soar  up  to.  But  I  am  speaking  to  a  better 
and  finer  sort  of  souls  than  these,  that  are  verily 
possessed  with  a  sense  of  a  pure  and  spiritual  heaven 


29^ 

in  the  world  to  come;  yea,  they  are  so  overpowered 
with  the  foresight  of  it,  as  that  they  do  earnestly 
expect  aiid  wish  for  it;  yea,   the  hopes  of  it  do  sus- 
tain and  strengthen  their  hearts  under  the  manifold 
temptations  and  persecutions  of  this  present  world ; 
they  are  so  verily  persuaded  of  the  truth  of  it,   and 
of  their  own  title  to  it  too,   that  they  are  content  to 
abide  this  long  and  disconsolate  night   of  dimness, 
and  anguish,  and  Rightfulness,   merely  in  expecta- 
tion of  the  dawning  of  that  day,  that  clear  and  bright 
day,   of  their  glorious   and  everlasting  redemption. 
And  herein  I  am  far  from  blaming  them,  nay,  I  must 
needs  commend  theii*  magnanimous  faith,  and  self- 
denial.    But,  in  the  mean  time,  they  dwell  too  much 
upon  heaven,   as  a  future  state,  and  comfort  them- 
selves only  in  a  happiness  to  come,  not  longing  and 
labouring  to  find  a  heaven  opened  within  themselves, 
a  beginning  of  eternal  bliss  brought  into  themselves; 
they  are  too  well  content  with  a  certain  reversion, 
and  do  not  eagerly  enough  endeavour  after  present 
possession,  to  be  actually  instated  in  so  much  of  the 
inheritance  of  souls  as  may  fall  to  their  share  even 
in  this  lower  world;  this  slothful  temper  and  inacti- 
vity I  do  condemn  wherever  it  is  found,  yea,  though 
it  be  in  my  own  soul.     Every  thing  in  the  world,  by 
a  natural  principle,  thirsts  after  its  proper  rest,  and 
a  happiness  suitable  to  the  nature  of  it;  no  creature 
can  be  content,  though  it  may  be  constrained,  to  be 
at  a  distance  from  its  centre,   but  is  still  carried  out 
towards  its  own  perfection.     And  why,  then,  should 
a  godly  soul,  who  is  God's  only  new  creature  in  the 
world,    be    content   with   a   state    of  imperfections  ? 
Why  should  not  he  as  eagerly  covet,  and  as  ear- 


295 

nestly  pursue,  the  most  intimate  and  close  commu- 
nion and  conjunction  with  his  God,   as  they  do  vvith 
their  respective  centres?      Can  any  earthly,  sensual, 
unregenerate  man,  he  content  vvith  an  inheritance  in 
reversion,  so  as  to  suspend  his  minding  and  following 
of  the  world  till  hereafter?      Can    any    ambitious 
spirit,   who  places  his  main  happiness  and  content- 
ment in  popular  estimation  and  worldly  greatness,  be 
content  to  stand  gazing  at  preferments?  will  he   be 
willing  to   sit  still,   and   wait  till  they  drop  into  his 
mouth?      No,   no;   there  is  a  raging  thirst  in  the 
soul,  which  will  not  suffer  it  to  be  at  rest,  but  is  still 
awakening  and  provoking  all  the  powers  of  the  whole 
man,  till  they  arise  and  fetch  in  water  to  quench  it. 
And  therefore  we  read  of  men  making  haste  to  be 
rich,  and  hastening  after  another  god;  which  eager 
and   ardent  passions   towards   earthly    objects,    you 
may  see  lively  described  in  the  instances  of  Ahab, 
Amnon,  and  Haman,  in  the  Holy  Scriptures.     And 
is  there  any  reason  to  be  given,  why  that  new  nature 
and  divine  principle,  which  God  putteth  into  regene- 
rate  souls,    should    not    carry    them   as  hastily   and 
forcibly   to  a  present  fruition  of  their  proper  object 
and  happiness,   (so  far  as  at  present  it  may  be  en- 
joyed,) as  that   corrupt  and  degenerate  nature  doth 
hurry  on  those,  in  whom  it  ruleth,  towards  the  satis- 
faction of  their  beastly  lusts?     Divines  speak  some- 
times of  making  heaven  and  eternal  life  present  to 
ourselves,   and  say  that  this  is  the  work  of  faith  ; 
which  is  a  high  and  excellent  doctrine,  but,  I  doubt, 
not  thoroughly  understood  by  ordinary  Christians. 
To  make  heaven  present  to  one's  self,  is  not  merely 
to  insist  upon  a  state  of  future  happiness  in  frequent 


^96 

meditations,  to  tliink  much  of  it,  neither  is  this  that 
noble  employment  of  saving  faith;  but  the  life  and 
power  of  faith  is  most  eminently  exerted  in  drawing 
in  participations  of  life  and  grace  from  Christ,  and 
in  a  real  bringing  down  of  God  and  heaven  into  the 
soul.  The  truth  is,  heaven  is  a  state  of  perfect 
communion  with  God,  a  state  of  love,  joy,  peace, 
purity,  freedom,  and  as  far  as  any  soul  is  in  such  a 
state  upon  earth,  so  far  he  is  above  the  earth,  and 
may  be  said  to  be  in  heaven.  Therefore,  a  right 
active  soul,  that  truly  understands  his  proper  and 
spiritual  heaven  and  happiness;  so  far  as  he  is  thus 
active  and  sensible,  cannot  be  content  to  stay  for  all 
his  happiness  till  the  world  to  come,  cannot  be  con- 
tent to  be  unhappy,  no,  not  for  an  hour,  but  is  still 
growing  up  in  God,  and  springing  up  into  everlast- 
ing life. 

2.  It  reprehends  those  that  make  a  stir  about  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  in  the  world,  and  men's  being 
brought  into  the  communion  of  the  church,  but  ad- 
vance not  his  kingdom  in  their  own  souls,  nor  long 
to  have  their  own  souls  advanced  into  that  noble 
state  of  communion  with  "  the  Father,  and  with  his 
Son  Jesus  Christ."  There  is,  doubtless,  a  genera- 
tion of  such  popular  Christians,  who,  being  strangers 
to  the  life,  and  power,  and  spirit  of  true  religion,  do 
endeavour  to  pass  off  themselves  on  the  world,  and 
commend  themselves  to  the  charitv  of  their  brethren, 
by  a  pretended  zeal  for  the  kingdom  of  Christ  in  the 
world,  and  the  glorious  manifestation  of  it,  as  they 
speak.  I  know,  indeed,  that  it  is  worthy  the  cares, 
and  prayers,  and  utmost  diligence  of  every  serious 
Christian,  to  spread  and  propagate  the  knowledge  of 


^97 

tlie  gospel,  to  pour  out  the  ointment  of  Christ's 
name  far  and  near.  A  more  pure  and  spiritual  ad- 
ministration of  all  gospel  ordinances  throughout  the 
world  is  highly  desirable;  yea,  and  I  think  an  in- 
different and  careless  disposition  towards  the  worship 
of  God  argues  much  of  an  earthly  and  atheistical 
mind.  But  I  fear  that  kingdom  of  Christ,  and 
those  glorious  manifestations  and  discoveries  which 
are  so  much  pretended  to  by  many,  if  they  should  be 
thoroughly  examined,  would  be,  at  length,  resolved 
into  nothing  else  but  the  advancement  of  some  one 
party  or  interest  above  all  the  rest,  or  the  exchang- 
ing of  an  old  form  and  dress  of  religion  for  a  new 
one ;  and  that  this  zeal  would  be  found  little  better 
than  the  blazings  of  self-love,  a  fire  kindled  not  by 
a  coal  from  the  altar,  but  by  a  spark  of  their  own. 
But,  be  it  so,  that  this  disposition  of  theirs  is  sincere 
and  spiritual;  should  not  this  charity  begin  at  home? 
The  most  proper  kingdom  of  Christ  is  that  whereby 
he  ruleth  in  the  hearts  of  men;  the  most  excellent 
worship  is  when  the  soul  itself  becomes  a  temple  for 
the  living  God  to  dwell  in,  and  to  receive  and  re- 
flect the  manifestations  of  his  glory  ;  when  a  fire  of 
divine  love  is  kindled  in  it,  and  therein  it  doth  offer 
up,  not  bulls  and  goats,  no,  nor  prayers  and  medita- 
tions, so  much  asitself  unto  God;  which  is  a  reason- 
able service,  as  the  Apostle  speaks,  far  more  glorious 
than  either  the  Mosaical  or  Evangelical  dispensation, 
if  you  consider  it  in  the  letter  only.  Whatever  men 
may  pretend,  no  man  can  be  truly  and  rightly  studi- 
ous of  the  advancement  of  the  kingdom  of  God  in 
the  world,  that  hath  not  first  felt  the  mighty  power 
and  blessed  effects  of  it  in  his  own  soul.      Commu- 

n3 


298 

nioii  with  the  church  is  only  so  far  to  he  valued,  as 
it  is  in  order  to  a  real  and  spiritual  communion  with 
God;  which  communion  with  God,  if  we  do  indeed 
sincerely  wish  toothers,  we  shall  more  abundantly  la- 
hour  to  promote  in  ourselves.  I  cannot  believe  that  he 
doth  heartily  seek  the  happiness  of  others,  who  himself 
sits  still,  and  is  content  to  be  miserable,  especially 
when  their  happiness  and  his  is  one  and  the  same. 

3.  It  condemns  them  as  not  Christians,  whose 
fellowship  is  only  with  their  fellow-creatures.  We 
have  seen  that  is  the  character,  the  distinguishing 
character  of  a  godly  man,  to  have  fellowship  with 
God.  It  must  needs  follow,  then,  that  those  de- 
generate souls  that  rise  no  higher  than  the  world, 
that  converse  only  with  self  or  any  other  creature, 
are  verily  strangers  to  true  Christianity,  whatever 
their  confidence  or  presumption  may  be.  Christians, 
tell  not  me  what  you  profess  of  Christ,  what  you 
believe  of  the  gospel,  what  orthodox  opinions  you 
hold,  what  an  honest  party  you  side  with,  how  many 
and  specious  duties  you  perform,  no,  nor  what  hopes 
or  wishes  you  have  of  going  to  heaven ;  but,  tell  me, 
where  is  your  principal  communion ;  what  do  you 
mainly  mind,  follow,  converse  with;  what  pattern  do 
you  conform  to  ;  what  rule  do  you  live  by;  what  ob- 
ject do  you  ultimately  aim  at?  The  whole  world  of 
worldly  men  doth  hasten  after  another  god,  as  the 
Psalmist  phrases  it,  though  not  all  after  the  same 
god  :  they  spend  their  souls,  indeed,  upon  various 
objects,  and  use  different  methods  to  obtain  rest, 
but  yet  all  their  happiness  and  contentment  is  ulti- 
mately resolved  into  creature-communion.  That 
dreadful  sentence,  which  the  Apostle  delivers  univer- 


299 

sally  concerning  all  men,  is  to  be  limited  to  all 
wicked  men  only,  and  of  them  it  is  undoubtedly 
true :  "  All  seek  their  own,  and  none  the  things  of 
Jesus  Christ."  And,  of  all  these,  that  of  the  Psal- 
mist's "  many"  is  to  be  understood:  "  There  be 
many  that  say.  Who  will  show  us  any  good?"  that 
is,  any  creature-good,  as  the  words  following  do  ex- 
plain it.  All  unregenerate  souls  are  bound  up  in 
the  creature,  some  creature  or  other ;  and  therefore 
the  noblest  of  them,  whatever  boasting  they  may 
make,  is  low  and  ignoble;  their  main  converse  is 
but  with  their  fellow-creatures,  and  indeed  creatures 
much  inferior  to  themselves:  "  Corn  and  wine,"  says 
the  Psalmist;  "  earthly  things,"  says  the  Apostle, 
— "  who  mind  earthly  things."  In  a  word,  though 
it  be  true  what  the  Apostle  says  in  one  place,  that 
all  men  in  the  world  do  live  in  God,  yet  it  is  also 
true,  that  most  of  men,  as  the  same  Apostle  speaks 
elsewhere,  do  "  live  without  God  in  the  world," 
have  their  hearts  staked  down  to  one  creature  or 
other,  and  so  fall  short  of  this  honourable  character 
which  the  Apostle  here  gives  of  godly  men  :  "  Our 
fellowship  is  with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Je- 
sus Christ." 

And  now  I  shall  conclude  the  remainder  of  this 
discourse,  with  a  humble  request,  and  earnest  expos- 
tulation. 

"  Reckon  not  upon  any  happiness  below  this  com- 
munion." There  are  many  things  which  a  Christian 
may  take  to  be  comforts;  but  only  one,  this  one,  that 
he  ought  to  take  to  be  the  happiness  of  his  life.  I 
design  not  to  speak  any  thing  to  the  prejudice  of 
natural  or  civil  ornaments  or  accomplishments,  much 


300 

less  to  the  disparagement  of  any  of  those  endowments 
or  employments  which  are,  in  a  sense,  spiritual,  com- 
monly called  gifts  and  duties  :  but,  I  must  confess, 
it  is  one  of  the  great  wonders  of  the  world  to  me,  to 
see  such  a  noble  and  intelligent  being,  as  the  soul 
of  man  is,  attending  to,  and  pursuing  after,  things 
either  extrinsical  or  inferior  to  itself,  in  the  mean 
time  carelessly  forgetting,  or  wilfully  rejecting,  its 
main  happiness,  principal  end,  and  proper  perfection. 
As  for  those  sensual  persons,  those  mere  animals, 
whose  souls  are  incarnate  in  their  senses,  and  seem 
to  perform  no  higher  oflBce  in  the  world  than  the 
souls  of  beasts,  that  is,  to  carry  about  their  bodies ; 
who  value  themselves  by  their  bodies,  or,  which  is 
baser,  by  the  apparel  that  clothes  them,  or  the 
estates  that  feed  them  :  1  shall  not  now  trouble  my- 
self about  them,  but  leave  them  to  be  chastised  by 
Seneca  or  Plutarch,  or  indeed  any  ordinary  philo- 
sopher. I  shall  rather  apply  myself  a  little  to  a  sort 
of  higher  spirited  people,  whom  by  a  condescension 
of  charity  we  call  Christians,  who,  valuing  themselves 
by  external  professions,  privileges,  performances,  may 
indeed  be  said  to  be  somewhat  more  scrupulous  and 
curious,  but  no  less  mistaken  than  the  former:  for 
if  the  grosser  sort  of  sensualists  do  deny,  and  pro- 
fessedly abjure  their  own  reason,  and  the  finer  sort 
of  liypocrites  do  more  cunningly  bribe  theirs,  each 
method  amounts  to  no  more  than  a  cheat,  and  both 
parties  will  be  alike  miserable,  save  that  the  latter 
will  be  somewhat  more  tormented  in  missing  a  hap- 
piness which  he  looked  and  hoped  for.  It  is  not 
proper  to  my  present  discourse,  to  speak  so  highly 
and   honourably  of  these  externals  of  Christianity, 


301 

nor  to  press  them  so  zealously,  as  I  do  at  all  times 
when  I  have  occasion  ;  lor  1  verily  value  all  ordi- 
nances of  Christ,  and  duties  of  God's  vvorship,  at  a 
high  rate ;  nay,  I  know  not  any  serious  and  truly 
godly  soul  in  the  world,  but  is  of  this  same  opinion 
with  me;  but,  I  must  confess,  I  think  it  is  one  of 
the  greatest  and  most  pernicious  cheats  in  the  world, 
for  men  to  feed  upon  the  dish  instead  of  the  meat, 
to  place  their  happiness  in  those  things  v/hich  God 
hath  only  appointed  to  be  means  to  convey  it.  This 
was  the  great  destruction  of  the  Jewish  church  ;  by 
this  they  perished;  thus  they  are  every  where  de- 
scribed in  Scripture,  as  a  people  resting  in  their  pri- 
vileges and  performances,  boasting  of  their  sacrifices 
and  temple-service  ;  they  made  account  of  a  strange 
kind  of  flesh-pleasing  heaven,  something  distinct  from 
them,  and  reserved  for  them,  to  be  given  them  by 
way  of  reward  for  the  righteousness  which  them- 
selves had  wrought  by  the  power  of  their  own  free- 
will (which  free-will,  they  say,  is  an  effect  of  man's 
fall,  but  they  make  it  a  cause  of  man's  rise ;  for  now 
he  can  purchase  and  merit  a  happiness,  which  hap- 
piness is  also  more  illustrious  than  that  given  of 
mere  grace;)  which  righteousness,  if  we  look  either 
into  their  own  writings,  or  God's  writings  concern- 
ing them,  we  shall  find  was  nothing  else  but  a  strict 
observance  of  the  precepts  of  the  law,  according  to 
the  letter  and  external  dispensation  of  it.  Such  a 
low  and  legal  spirit  was  generally  found  amongst  the 
Jews ;  I  wish  the  greatest  part  of  us,  who  are  in 
profession  and  name  evangelical,  be  not  found  as 
truly  legal  in  spirit  and  temper  as  they  were.  If 
we  cry  the  gospel  of  Christ,  the  gospel  of  Christ, 


802 

with  the  same  spirit,  as  they  cried,  **  the  temple  of 
the  Lord,  the  temple  of  the  Lord,"  our  confidence 
will  as  surely  betray  us  into  final  misery  as  theirs 
did.  True,  indeed,  prayers,  sacraments,  sermons, 
are  somewhat  finer  words  than  the  old  obsolete  ones, 
the  law,  sacrifices,  ceremonies ;  but,  alas  !  they  are 
but  words ;  at  least  they  are  not  God's,  no  more  fit 
to  terminate  our  devotions  and  atFections  than  these. 
I  beseech  vou.  therefore,  Christians,  be  not  mistaken 
in  this  matter.  True  Christianity  is  not  a  notion, 
but  a  nature;  that  is  not  religion  which  is  wrapped 
up  in  books,  or  laid  up  in  men's  brains,  but  it  is  laid 
in  the  very  constitution  of  the  soul,  a  new  principle 
implanted  by  God,  in  the  higliest  powers  of  the  soul, 
refining  and  spiritualizing  all  the  faculties  thereof, 
and  renderin<r  them  as  like  to  God  himself,  as  such 
a  creature  can  resemble  its  Creator.  It  is  a  truth, 
as  clear  as  the  sun  is  clear,  that  nothing  can  make 
a  soul  truly  happy,  but  what  is  wrought  into  the 
nature  of  it,  and  that  must  be  somewhat  more  ex- 
cellent than  itself,  and  that  can  be  nothing  less  than 
something  divine,  even  the  image  of  the  blessed 
God.  If  you  be  Christians,  in  deed  and  in  truth, 
value  all  the  ordinances  of  God,  and  the  duties  of 
the  Christian  religion,  but  value  not  yourselves  by 
these,  your  happiness  by  these.  Attend  upon  them 
all  for  the  maintaining  and  increasing  of  real  fellow- 
ship with  God;  for  though  these  be  not  it,  yet  they 
are  the  way  wherein  it  pleases  God  to  give  it.  Drink 
the  sincere  milk  of  the  word,  but  let  it  be  only  with 
a  holy  design  of  growing  thereby,  of  growing  up 
into  God,  and  a  divine  life.  Away  with  those  low 
and  base  thoughts  of  happiness ;   the  happiness  of  a 


303 

soul  is  a  high  and  excellent,  indeed  a  divine  thing; 
it  is  in  some  sense  common  to  God  and  the  soul; 
God  is  happy  in  himself  alone,  and  the  soul  can  only 
be  happy  in  him.  What  contentment,  what  real 
happiness,  Christian,  can  the  rising  of  thy  party  in 
the  world,  or  the  rising  of  thy  name  in  the  country, 
bring  thee,  if,  in  the  mean  time,  thou  thyself  har- 
bourest  any  carnal  will,  self-interest  that  doth  rise 
up  in  opposition  to  the  pure  and  perfect  will  and 
nature  of  God  ?  how  art  thou  happy  in  thy  prayers, 
if  thou  cast  sin  out  of  thy  mouth,  and,  in  the  mean 
time,  a  fountain  of  iniquity  be  springing  up  in  thy 
heart !  What  avails  it  towards  a  state  of  perfection, 
to  be  of  the  most  orthodox  opinions,  the  most  honest 
society,  the  fairest  profession,  the  most  popular  and 
sanctimonious  form,  or  the  most  plausible  perform- 
ances either,  the  soul  being,  in  the  mean  time,  alie- 
nated from  the  life  of  God,  and  feeding  upon  some 
earthly  trash  or  other,  which  destroys  the  native 
powers  and  vigour  o^  it,  and  keeps  it  under  a  per- 
petual languor?  even  just  so  much  as  a  silken  stock- 
ing upon  a  gouty  leg,  or  a  princely  diadem  upon  an 
aching  head,  avails  towards  a  state  of  ease  and  sound- 
ness and  good  temperature  of  body.  Let  nothing 
limit  your  ambition,  but  a  state  of  God-like  perfec- 
tion, let  nothing  set  bounds  to  your  loving  and  long- 
ing souls,  but  a  real  fruition  of  God  himself;  nay, 
let  not  that  bound  them  neither,  but  the  more  you 
enjoy,  see,  and  taste,  the  more  let  your  love  be 
strengthened,  after  the  manner  of  fire,  which,  the 
more  it  is  fed,  the  more  hungry  and  devouring  it 
grows.  In  a  word,  let  nothing  satisfy  you  lower 
than  the  highest  character  that  can  be  given  of  mor- 


304. 

tal  man,  to  be  men  "after  God's  own  heart,"  to 
have  God  dwelling  in  you,  to  be  filled  with  his  ful- 
ness, to  have  this  real  and  excellent  "communion 
with  the  Father,  and  with  his  Son  Jesus  Christ." 
To  whom  be  all  honour,  praise,  and  glory,  for  ever 
and  ever  ! 


FINIS. 


PriiUed  by  W.  Collins  &  Co. 
Glasgow. 


Princeton   Theological   Seminary   Librari 


les 


1    1012  01197  4583 


